Theater News

Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana to Perform Reading of Dear Jack, Dear Louise

The new play by Ken Ludwig will be presented in Washington, DC, on November 1.

Santino Fontana and Laura Osnes will costar in a reading of Ken Ludwig's Dear Jack, Dear Louise at Arena Stage.
Santino Fontana and Laura Osnes will costar in a reading of Ken Ludwig's Dear Jack, Dear Louise at Arena Stage.
(© David Gordon)

Tony nominees and Broadway's original Cinderella costars Santino Fontana (Tootsie) and Laura Osnes (Bandstand) will perform a one-night-only reading of Tony-nominated playwright Ken Ludwig's new play Dear Jack, Dear Louise in Washington, DC, on Thursday, November 1, at 6:30pm.

Ludwig will direct the reading, which benefits Theater J, supporting the nation's most distinctive and progressive Jewish theater. The performance will take place at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.

Dear Jack, Dear Louise tells the true story of the courtship of Ludwig's own parents. The time is 1942, and US Army Captain Jacob S. Ludwig, stationed in Oregon, has become pen pals with Louise Rabiner, an aspiring actor in New York City. Through letters, notes, and telegrams, the young Jewish lovers must find their way toward each other — even though they have never met.

Ludwig's previous plays include Lend Me a Tenor, Murder on the Orient Express, and the book of the Tony-winning Gershwin musical Crazy for You.