Hays Community Theatre invites locals to enjoy two February productions

By ADIA REYNOLDS

Tiger Media Network

The Hays Community Theatre is releasing two productions for the month of February: “Love Letters” and “Leaving Iowa” and cast members are eager to put on a show.

“Love Letters is a play by A.R. Gurney that tells the story of Melissa Gardner & Andrew Makepeace Ladd III, two childhood friends whose lifelong relationship is entirely conveyed through letters they exchange over decades. The show is described on the Hays Community Theatre website as “a poignant exploration of love, missed opportunities, & the power of words on paper.”

The cast of “Love Letters” are lovers beyond the four walls of the theater as well. Dana and Andy Stanton, husband and wife duo, have taken to the stage to put on the show. 

“This casting experience is different from most, as I was cast with my husband,” Dana Stanton said. “This makes perfect sense for a play that has only two characters who eventually fall in love.”

She said this show is different than others because the actors don’t need to memorize lines or learn blocking.

“The only two characters of the play read letters they have written to each other over a span of 50 years,” she said. 

Andy Stanton is currently on the Hays Community Theatre Board and helps with HCT’s advertising, marketing, and social media.

“I was approached by a board member to help with some social media management for the theatre and before long, I was fully involved in various activities at the theatre,” he said. 

“Love Letters” will be shown at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at the Hays Community Theatre. 

“Leaving Iowa” tackles a very different set of topics. Hays Community Theatre describes “Leaving Iowa” as the story of Don Browning, a middle-aged writer, who returns home and decides to finally take his father’s ashes to his childhood home, as requested. But when Don discovers Grandma’s house is now a grocery store, he begins traveling across Iowa searching for a proper resting place for his father.

“Leaving Iowa” will be shown on February 21-23 at the Hays Community Theater.

Both productions are tales of familial and romantic love, how they shape us, and how the loss of them shapes us in equal measure. 

“​​[“Love Letters”] has it all,” Dana Stanton said. “You will laugh, think, and maybe even cry. Rarely do you see characters across the span of so many years. It is a great play.” 

Tickets for both shows can be purchased at https://www.hctks.com/.