’84 Charing Cross Road’

Off-Broadstreet Theatre revives Helene Hanff’s play, based on correspondence between a New York author and the staff of a London bookstore.

By: Stuart Duncan

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From left: Tom Stevenson, Jennifer


East, Lauren Brader and John Anastasio in 84 Charing Cross Road.


   It’s rather sad that the art of letter writing seems to have been neglected amidst the rush to e-mail and cell phones. There exists a small but significant genre of stage plays based essentially on the exchange of personal letters. A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters is perhaps the best known, but just recently George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick presented Address Unknown, written almost seven decades ago, but still vibrant. And now, Off-Broadstreet Theatre in Hopewell brings us Helene Hanff’s 84 Charing Cross Road.
   The work appeared first in 1970 as a novelette, and subsequently turned into a BBC television production in 1975. A stage play adapted by James Roose-Evans came six years later, and finally a Hollywood film was made in 1986, starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins.
   The novel covered several decades of correspondence between a New York-based author (Ms. Hanff) and the staff of a real-life bookstore in London. The tale begins in the years right after World War II, when the city was gripped by food rationing and bomb craters had not yet been filled. Ms. Hanff sees a small ad in The Saturday Review for a London store specializing in used books. She loves books, but cannot afford expensive ones. In that spirit, she sends the store, Marks & Co., a want list, and soon is delighted to receive a package of good, cheap, readable editions. Thus begins a correspondence with Frank Doel (on behalf of Marks & Co.) that lasts for years, without the two ever meeting.
   Like all works of the genre, the audience is left to fill in the details of the unexpressed motivations of the characters by what they put on paper, but here the author provides us with a few clues: "I’m not afraid of traveling — I’m afraid of arriving." Or: "Nothing is cheap any more — it’s reasonable. Or ‘sensibly priced.’"
   The play has fewer characters than the film, and director Bob Thick has cast superbly. Helene Hanff is played by Catherine Rowe, with a delightful blend of New York toughness and compassion. Tom Stevenson has his best role in years as Frank Doel, a dedicated company man with a clear understanding that duty can be tempered by affection. Lauren Brader turns the tiny role of Cecily, one of the shelf-stockers, into a memorable one with a smile that radiates. John Anastasio returns after too many years away to play William Humphries, another shelf-stocker. Jennifer East plays a rather mousy third stocker, Megan Wells, nicely. And, late in the show, Billy Brown makes a stage debut as a new hire, when some of the regulars have moved on.
   Incidentally, Helene Hanff had a most successful career with television scripts (30 of them for Hallmark Hall of Fame plus a stint with The Adventures of Ellery Queen), but her novelette was turned down by more than 50 publishers before a small and obscure firm picked it up.
   One of the critics of the original play suggested: "this is a show for anyone who loves books. Or loves London." I’ll go a bit farther — this is a show for anyone who enjoys a charming evening.
84 Charing Cross Road continues at Off-Broadstreet Theatre, 5 S. Greenwood Ave., Hopewell, through May 7. Performances: Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2:30 p.m.; doors open one hour before performance time for desserts and beverages. Tickets cost $23.75 Fri., Sun.; $25.25 Sat. For information, call (609) 466-2766.