Plaza Theatre, Romsey
on25th to 28th April 1990
The shop was Marks & Co, the lady, a merry New Yorker who didn't believe in being formal. Instead of writing orders for books, she wrote "long, goofy letters" first to Frank Doel, the manager, and then to members of his staff and family. Fortunately she kept all the letters, and this extraordinary relationship was revealed first in a book, then in a BBC television play starring Frank Finlay, and later in James Roose-Evans faithful adaptation as a stage play, first performed, incidentally, at the Salisbury Playhouse in 1981. The play was a huge success in London and a monumental flop on Broadway, but regained success when the film was made of this delightful story starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins.
In October 1949 Helene Hanff wrote the following letter to Marks & Co Booksellers:
| Cast | |
| Helene Hanff | Mollie Manns |
| Frank Doel | Albie Minns |
| Cecily Farr | Jane Royle |
| Megan Wells | Philippa Taylor |
| Bill Thomas | Kevin Mitchell |
| Mr Martin | Douglas Coates |
| Mrs Todd | Jan Ward |
| Maxine Stuart | Hazel Burrows |
A note from the Director
To increase the intimacy of the feelings of the characters, I decided to include live music during the course of the action, rather than the normal taped sound effect, based almost entirely around one theme, "Deep Purple", which many of you recognised. Michael Patterson, known to many of you as a director for the company, played the piano.
Belinda Drew, Director
| For the Maskers | |
| The Director | Belinda Drew |
| Stage Manager | Angie Barks, assisted by Jean Durman & Julia Campione |
| Set Designer | Ken Spencer |
| Set Builders | Ron Tillyer, Geoff Cook, Edwin Beechcroft |
| Lighting Designer | Ron Tillyer |
| Lighting Operator | Chris Bennet |
| Sound | Lawrie Gee, Tony Lawther |
| Wardrobe | Fran Morley, Katherine Morley |
| Props & Furniture | Ella Lockett, Meri Lawther |
| Publicity Manager | Michael Patterson |
| Front of House Coordinator | Christine Baker |
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