A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE

Bob & Jean: A Love Story

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  1w, 2m

Travel through correspondence between Bob and Jean – a new couple separated by the realities of WWII – as seen through the eyes of their son in this stirring and romantic play based on real letters between the playwright’s parents.

Bob & Jean: A Love Story

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 2m
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Docudrama/History
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

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 and Tony Award-winning as well as Emmy-nominated playwright Robert Schenkkan, Bob & Jean: A Love Story is a stirring and romantic world premiere that tells the remarkable story of an exhilarating courtship – that of the playwright’s own parents.

History

Bob & Jean: A Love Story premiered in Austin, TX at the Zach Theatre on 19 March 2025. Directed by Dave Steakley, the production featured Maggie Anderson, Jamie Goodwin and Jake Roberson. It subsequently premiered in Tempe, AZ at the Arizona Theatre Company on 23 March 2025 and in Sag Harbor, NY at Bay Street Theatre on 27 May 2025.

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.
JEAN – Female. In her twenties.
BOB – Male. In his twenties.

All three actors play multiple parts, as described throughout the script.

All three actors play multiple parts, as described throughout the script.

  • Time Period 1940s/WWII
  • Setting

    Various locations from the US to the European front. 1942-1944, as seen from today.

  • Features Period Costumes
  • Additional Features No Intermission
  • Duration 90 minutes

Media

“Heartwarming, optimistic, charming and full of hope.” – Broadway World (Tempe, AZ)

“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)

Videos

  • Bob & Jean: A Love Story – Arizona Theatre Company Trailer youtube thumbnail

    Bob & Jean: A Love Story – Arizona Theatre Company Trailer

  • Bob & Jean: A Love Story – In Your Own Words with Arizona Theatre Company youtube thumbnail

    Bob & Jean: A Love Story – In Your Own Words with Arizona Theatre Company

  • PBS Interview with Playwright Robert Schenkkan youtube thumbnail

    PBS Interview with Playwright Robert Schenkkan

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £55 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Authors

Robert Schenkkan

Robert Schenkkan, Pulitzer Prize winner, Tony Award winner, and two-time Emmy nominee, was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina but grew up in Austin, Texas. As a Plan II Honors student he received a B.A. in Drama from the University of Texas at Austin (Most Distinguished Youn ...
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