Events: Arizona - Phoenix - Scottsdale

You could go out for yet another predictable Valentine’s Day dinner - or you could do the unpredictable. The creative. The imaginative. The deeply romantic. And in the process you could also do good by a very good cause: supporting the Bard of love and Southwest Shakespeare Company.

“Love Letters,” performed for two nights only at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West, presents readings by local luminaries Senator Robert Worsley and Christi Worsley reading Feb. 13, and Major League Baseball Commissioner Emeritus Bud Selig and Sue Selig reading Feb. 18 in a charity benefit.

Bob Worsley is a Mesa state senator and Christi Worsley is founder of the new "Lincoln Center West" performance center, Consolari, proposed for a site in Mesa next to the Mesa Arts Center. Bud Selig, the ninth commissioner of Major League Baseball, was recently inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The Seligs are also known for their philanthropic efforts at the Phoenix Art Museum.

A Pulitzer Prize finalist, “Love Letters” is a play by A.R.Gurney that tells the story of a 50-year relationship through letters written between two characters, Melissa and Andrew. On Broadway, it has been performed by couples such as Alan Alda and Candice Bergen, Colleen Dewhurst and Jason Robards, Timothy Hutton and Elizabeth McGovern, and Anjelica Huston and Martin Sheen.

In a New York Times review of a “Love Letters” performance, Charles Isherwood characterized the work this way:  “Mr. Gurney’s deceptively simple and quietly moving play.”

Southwest Shakespeare Company’s production will feature two couples representing different phases of the characters’ lives.  Actors will present the first stages; the guest artists will present the last, most poignant letters.

Note that indulging in “Love Letters” means you can also have that romantic dinner on the 14th.  But at Taliesin West on the 13th and 18th,  you will find the meaning of love - at least hints about it. These will be moments you will cherish.

Tickets for the Southwest Shakespeare evenings are $100 per person and includes a romantic dessert.

A table of four is $1,000 and includes on-stage seating (limited availability), Champagne and substantial hors d’oeuvres.

A package for true lovers includes a pair of tickets for both nights. The price is $375.

Proceeds benefit ongoing education efforts of Southwest Shakespeare Company, a 501(c)(3) charity.

Call 480.435.6868 to book your seats now.  Mention code PRLL17 to receive a 10 percent discount.