The heartwarming Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise opens at Theatre Jacksonville on February 27, telling the unlikely romance of the Tony Award-winning playwright’s parents during World War II. Ken Ludwig, author of more than 34 plays and musicals performed around the world, based his intimate play on the real-life relationship of Jack who, nudged by matchmaking parents, strikes up a courtship with Louise, an aspiring singer and dancer in Manhattan.
          “This amazing show is such a well-rounded peek into life from a vastly different and difficult era, yet one we can all relate to because of stories we’ve no doubt heard from our parents or grandparents about their lives during the war,” said Theatre Jacksonville Executive Director Sarah Boone, who has performed her own cabaret-style tribute show Mom Before Dad about her mother’s romance with a soldier from the same era. “It is both poignant and amusing and uses personal letters to explore the amazing connection and long-distance commitment that Jack and Louise Ludwig forged and shared.”
            Dear Jack, Dear Louise will be directed by Roxanna Lewis and features Kyle Blumenthal as Jack and Ashlyn Brown as Louise. Shows will run from Feb. 27 through March 15, with evening performances at 7:30 p.m. and three matinee performances at 2 p.m. on March 8, 14 and 15. The last Saturday performance will be a 2 p.m. matinee.    
            The final two Mainstage productions this season will include:
¨     Play On by Rick Abbot, opening April 17 – This comedy of a play within a play is a zany love letter to community theater, as a theater group tries and fails while a haughty author keeps revising the script.
¨     Sondheim on Sondheim with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, conceived and directed by James Lapine, opening June 5 – The genius songwriter Stephen Sondheim is celebrated with his own songs amid a framework of exclusive and in-depth video interviews.
           One complimentary ticket is included with All-Access Memberships and Season Subscriptions. Single tickets for the show will be offered for $31 each. For more information about Dear Jack, Dear Louise or the remainder of the 106th season, visit www.theatrejax.com.

About Theatre Jacksonville
          Theatre Jacksonville was founded in 1919 as The Little Theatre of Jacksonville, with the capital for the 1938 construction of the historic facility donated by Carl S. Swisher. It was reincorporated as Theatre Jacksonville in 1969 and named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Theatre Jacksonville has provided 106 years of uninterrupted community theater in Jacksonville.
          Theatre Jacksonville’s mission is to enrich lives and broaden cultural understanding through community participation in theater arts. In addition to providing more than 100 performances each season of outstanding community theater featuring a regional cast of exceptionally talented playwrights, musicians, actors, designers and stagehands,    Theatre Jacksonville reaches hundreds of students each year through summer camps, classes, field trips and in-school presentations.  
          Theatre Jacksonville also uses art to advance issues of local concern. From supporting veterans to nurturing arts and recreation, it fosters community partnerships to advance the culture, health and well-being of Jacksonville. As Theatre Jacksonville anticipates its future, it also seeks to build a strong operational foundation to ensure that, just as endowed funds support the theater building, endowed funds will support theater operations. For more information or to donate, visit www.theatrejax.com.