Barbara Eden and Hal Linden to Star in Love Letters

Media Contact:

Kristen Gleason
Director of Marketing
The Paramount Theater
215 East Main Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902
434.979.1922 ext. 103
kristen@theparamount.net

For Immediate Release

November 20, 2006

Together for the first time, I Dream of Jeannie’s Barbara Eden and Barney Miller’s Hal Linden will take the stage for A.R. Gurney’s unique theatre piece Love Letters.  Evocative, touching, and frequently funny, the story is told through the reading of letters exchanged by two people over a lifetime.  The play presents an intriguing pair of character studies, as what is literally implied between the lines is as revealing and meaningful as the words that are actually written down. 

Eden and Linden will bring Love Letters to The Paramount for one night only on Saturday, December 2 at 8 pm.

Nicole Thorn and Peggy Westphalwill be providing sign language interpretation for this performance.

Love Letters is the tale of Andrew Makepeace Ladd III (Linden) and Melissa Gardner (Eden), childhood friends born to wealth and position whose lifelong correspondence begins with birthday party thank-you notes and summer camp postcards.  Romantically attached, they continue to exchange letters through their boarding school and college years.  Andy goes to war, both marry other people, yet the connection is still strong.  Their words to each other -- from eloquent to irreverent -- make it clear how much they really mean and give to each other over the years.  While physically apart, Andy and Melissa remain as close spiritually as only true lovers can be.

From her high school days in San Francisco, Barbara Eden had a goal -- to succeed in show business.  Tapped to appear in the television series How to Marry a Millionaire, which lasted for two seasons, Eden went on to starring roles in such feature films as Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, and The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao.  Of course, Eden is best-known for the hit television series I Dream of Jeannie.  Not only a network mainstay, the show has become one of the most popular in American television history, and returned to primetime on Nick at Nite.  Internationally-syndicated, the program continues to air daily worldwide. 

An accomplished singer as well as actress, Eden has starred in highly-successful national tours of musicals such as Woman of the Year, South Pacific, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.  Each year, she accepts a limited number of nightclub engagements headlining the MGM Grand, the Riviera, and the Sahara, among others.  Forever endeared to the public, her accomplishments have been honored with a "star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Actor, singer, and musician, Tony Award winner Hal Linden is a versatile star who easily shifts from roles in theatrical and TV films to projects for the legitimate stage and performances in the world’s finest nightclubs.  The native New Yorker began his show business career as a clarinet player, later touring as a singer with the Sammy Kaye, Bobby Sherwood, and Boyd Raeburn bands.  As a member of the U.S. Army band, he became involved in army revues, which piqued an acting career. 

Forever known as the star of the enormously popular TV series Barney Miller, Linden’s television credits have included Law and Order, Come to Papa, and Jack’s Place, and earned him three Emmy Awards.  During the last few years, Linden has appeared in the Broadway productions of Cabaret, The Gathering, and The Sisters Rosensweig.  In addition, Linden has played Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden, starred with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in Out To Sea, transformed into a cantankerous octogenarian in I’m Not Rappaport for 44 weeks on Broadway, and completed a nine-city tour of Man Of La Mancha.

Seats for Barbara Eden and Hal Linden’s appearance in Love Letters on Saturday, December 2 are $75, $54, $51, and $48.   Students may obtain half-price student rush tickets at the Box Office with a valid ID 45 minutes prior to curtain.  Group discounts are also available.  Tickets may be purchased online or through The Paramount’s Box Office at 434.979.1333.