84 CHARING CROSS ROAD

In 1949, Helene Hanff, a single woman paying her rent on an apartment in a New York brownstone by proofreading and writing the occasional television script, comes across an ad in the Saturday Review of Literature. Prompted by the ad, she sends off a letter to Marks & Co., antiquarian booksellers at 84 Charing Cross Road in London, asking if they can provide inexpensive copies of any of a long list of books she wants to own. Frank Doel replies on behalf of Marks & Co., enclosing a very proper note along with the Robert Louis Stevenson. Thus begins a 20-year correspondence that ranges over such diverse subjects as war-time rationing, the sermons of John Donne, how to make Yorkshire Pudding, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. If you've got a passion for literature or a soft spot for merrie olde England, if you're a sucker for a hopeless romance, this play will be just your cup of tea.

84 CHARING CROSS ROAD will be performed at the Off-Broadstreet Dessert Theatre, 5 S. Greenwood Avenue, Hopewell, NJ 08525. The cast includes Catherine Rowe as Helene Hanff and Tom Stevenson as Frank Doel, with John Anastasio, Lauren Brader and Jennifer East as the denizens of the bookshop. Performance dates are April 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30 and May 1, 6 and 7, 2005. Doors open at 7:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, 1:30 on Sundays for dessert and coffee. Performances begin at 8:00 (Fridays & Saturdays) and 2:30 (Sundays). The ticket price ($23.75 Fridays & Sundays, $25.25 Saturdays) includes the gourmet dessert and coffee, plus the performance. There is a special senior rate of $22.00 for Sunday matinees only. Reservations and additional information can be obtained by calling the Off-Broadstreet Theatre box office at 609-466-2766.