Bob & Jean: A Love Story
by Robert Schenkkan

Name: Bob & Jean: A Love Story
Brand: Robert Schenkkan
SKU: 9780822246091

Bob & Jean: A Love Story Book Cover — Bob & Jean: A Love Story Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

90 mins 1940s/WWII Strong Role for Leading Man (Star Vehicle) Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle) Role(s) for Senior Actor(s) Unit Set/Multiple Settings Period Costumes

Synopsis

Lightning strikes and sparks fly when Bob and Jean meet in New York City, 1941.

But their instant attraction is cut short as World War II drives the pair thousands of miles apart.

While Bob is off to the Pacific as a bomb disposal officer, Jean is headed to boost troop morale as an actress in the USO.

Is their connection strong enough to withstand the winds of war?

Travel through their passionate, funny, sometimes desperate correspondence as they navigate battle, Broadway and the complexities of the human heart.

A new play written by Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award-winning and Emmy-nominated playwright Robert Schenkkan, Bob & Jean: A Love Story is a stirring and romantic drama that tells the remarkable story of an exhilarating courtship – that of the playwright’s own parents.

Press Reviews

"A 40-year romance that is warm, funny, ardent, inventive and, above all, resilient… Two years worth of wartime love letters that are frisky, sensual, imaginative and, above all, honest… Such is the charm of Bob & Jean: A Love Story."
— Austin American-Statesman

"In his play, Schenkkan has shared with audiences the rare gift of hindsight… A love letter to all that the children of those WWII veterans have lost – time with their parents, the chance to ask meaningful questions and the understanding of what it might have taken to find love in the midst of a conflict whose outcome was anything but certain."
— 27 East

"Heartwarming, optimistic, charming and full of hope… The writing is delicious and exquisite… Bob & Jean: A Love Story has a small cast, but the story of the play is big, while at the same time being intimate and personal."
— Broadway World (Tempe, AZ)

"A fluent tale that captures the delicate urgency of falling in love while the world unravels… captures the aching need for intimacy in an era defined by separation – when lovers clung to words in place of touch, and relationships were sustained in silence… and a profile of a generation shaped by duty, geography, and dramatic change."
— Tucson Sentinel

"Schenkkan’s writing is sharp, intimate, and refreshingly unsentimental. He avoids the easy trappings of romantic nostalgia and, instead, offers dialogue that is deeply human – full of wit, doubt and the kind of yearning that feels achingly real. The play never falls into the trap of being a mere historical reenactment; instead, it is a living, breathing testament to the resilience of love in the face of war."
— Broadway World (Tucson, AZ)

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Jean Female. In her twenties.	female	—	Female. In her twenties.
Bob Male. In his twenties. All three actors play multiple parts, as described throughout the script.	male	—	Male. In his twenties. All three actors play multiple parts, as described throughout the script.
Narrator Male. Could be any age between 30-60, but the playwright thinks perhaps the most interesting casting is an older actor. In that version a son, who is now late in life, looks back at his parents when they were young.	male	30-60	Male. Could be any age between 30-60, but the playwright thinks perhaps the most interesting casting is an older actor. In that version a son, who is now late in life, looks back at his parents when they were young.