Winner of three awards at the Eastern Ontario Drama League One Act Play Festival, "Dear Ray" is an actor’s dream, an emotional rollercoaster that brings audiences to their feet after every performance. Nadine is a widow. Ray left her with an antique store full of ghosts that she never once wanted any part of. Now she’s stuck with it. Stuck in Rosewood. On her own. Sure, Omer Grimes is handy to have around and he has a certain charm ...even though he’s been trying to see what’s under Nadine’s overalls since far too soon after Ray passed away…and he still lives with his parents...in the basement, which he manages to pull off as charming and not nearly as pathetic as one would expect. Nadine isn’t interested. Or is she? Why else would she be jealous of Essie-Mae Beck, who does shiatsu massage. And we all know what that means.
Keywords: widowhood, aging, small-town, solo
Produced by the Brockville Theatre Guild at the Eastern Ontario Drama League One Act Play Festival, Lindsay ON, November 2022. Winner of three awards including Best Production of a new Canadian play.
Full production by River & Main Theatre Company at Theatre in the Wings, Belleville ON, January 2023.
Genre: Comedy
Acts: 1
Run time: 60 minutes
Cast size: 1 actor
Female roles: 1
“From my first read-through, I felt Ray in my heart and saw Omer in my mind’s eye. It was a joy bringing Nadine to life with my visit to Rosewood. I look forward to returning someday.” – Lisa Leroux, Nadine in the Brockville Theatre Guild’s production of "Dear Ray"“I’ve loved every minute of it and I know audiences will love every minute of it as well. It might be "dripping in sentimentality" for me to say that Peter really got in touch with this woman, this character, Nadine. But somehow, he did.” – Judie Preece, Nadine in River & Main Theatre Company’s production of "Dear Ray"