In an age in which couples communicate through quick e-mails and abbreviated text messages, the Sooner Theatre, 101 E. Main St., is hoping to revive an appreciation for handwritten notes when it presents "Love Letters" this Saturday, 8 p.m.

The acclaimed on- and off-Broadway play by A.R. Gurney follows the romance of two very different friends?an uptight lawyer and a free-spirited artist?who find love in each other through a lifetime of correspondence.

Veteran actress Betsy Palmer, who has played roles in shows like "Knott's Landing" and films like "The Long Grey Line" and "Mr. Roberts," and established company manager Jon Finch will play lovers Melissa and Andy for the Norman audience.

"The two actors are really able to bring you into their characters, make you feel a part of their lives," said David Keathly, director of Marland Mansion in Ponca City, who saw Palmer and Finch perform in the play a year ago.

Jon Finch, an Oklahoma native who's currently the director of the University of Central Oklahoma's "Broadway Tonight" series, has made a career off-stage overseeing productions with actors like Carol Channing, Shirley Jones and Chita Rivera, will be on stage to read "love letters" to the audience.

"The way it's presented?with just Betsy and myself reading letters?can be a shock to the audience at first," he said. "But it's very intriguing and interesting. The words are terribly moving, often hysterically funny."

Jennifer Heavner Baker, a friend of Finch and director of the Sooner Theatre, said it is the intimacy of the play that she finds particularly appealing.

"It's refreshing, an honest approach to theater," she said. "You don't have to get through a big production?with prop and costume changes?to get a beautiful story and message."

Tickets for the show are $20 and can be purchased by through the box office at 321-9600 or www.soonerthatre.com.
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