By Valerie Milano
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 12/20/25 – Few works in the theatrical canon strip storytelling down to its emotional core quite like Love Letters. And few performers are as uniquely suited to inhabit that intimacy as Stefanie Powers.
I recently sat down with the legendary actress for a wide-ranging Zoom conversation following her recent Aspiring Magazine cover appearance, to discuss her upcoming one-night-only staged reading of Love Letters, a benefit performance supporting the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, and to reflect on a career that has helped shape film, television, theater, and activism for more than six decades.
On Sunday, January 11, 2026, Powers will reunite with actor Patrick Wayne for a special 1:00 p.m. performance of A.R. Gurney’s beloved play on the Debbie Reynolds Stage at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. The event promises not only theatrical excellence, but a meaningful call to action.
“Love Letters is just kind of a gift to actors,” Powers told me, speaking of the late playwright A.R. Gurney. “He wrote these letters across a lifetime, during a period of history that’s personal to him, and personal to all of us who’ve lived through some of it.”
Originally written as informal holiday entertainment for friends, the play’s simplicity, two actors seated on stage, reading correspondence exchanged over decades, became its greatest strength.
“There’s no massive set, no costumes, no rehearsal period required,” Powers explained. “And yet it pulls nostalgia out of everyone. It’s personal, touching, and completely universal.”
That universality is what drew Powers back to the piece time and again. Following the end of Hart to Hart, she and her longtime co-star Robert Wagner toured Love Letters for six years, performing more than 500 shows across the U.S., Canada, London’s West End, and beyond.
“It became something very personal to both of us,” she reflected. “We didn’t just perform; we connected with audiences all over the world.”
This upcoming performance marks a meaningful reunion between Powers and Patrick Wayne, whose shared history dates back to their teenage years working on McClintock! alongside Wayne’s father John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.
Powers spoke fondly of being welcomed into what she calls the “John Ford movie family,” recalling the deep loyalty and creative continuity that defined that era of filmmaking.
“Everybody worked together again and again, the same cameramen, makeup artists, lighting technicians,” she said. “I was the only non-family member, but they absorbed me quickly. It was a privilege.”
That shared legacy now brings added resonance to Love Letters, a play about time, memory, missed chances, and enduring connection.
“It resonates for us as actors, but also for the audience,” Powers noted. “You don’t have to be from that generation to feel it. You’re rooting for one or the other the entire time. A.R. Gurney gave us a gift that will last for eons.”
Unlike traditional theater, Love Letters relies entirely on voice, rhythm, and emotional truth, an experience Powers likens to classic radio drama.
“It’s like radio plays before television,” she said. “They allowed the audience to fill in the gaps with their imagination. That’s what makes this kind of storytelling so powerful.”
With no visual distractions, audiences lean in, listening more closely, feeling more deeply.
Looking back at her trailblazing television roles, from The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., the first hour-long U.S. series led by a woman, to Hart to Hart, Powers admits she didn’t realize at the time how groundbreaking her work was.
“I wish we had known,” she said. “It would have been wonderful to talk about it then. But I was part of the last great Hollywood studio system. I was under contract, they could send you anywhere, and you went.”
Those early years included working with legends such as John Wayne, Ava Gardner, Roger Moore, Sammy Davis Jr., Lana Turner, and more, experiences that shaped her sense of craft and professionalism.
“There’s an old saying in tennis,” she laughed. “You don’t improve your game unless you’re playing with people who play better than you.”
Enjoy my conversation with actress Stefanie Powers:
At the heart of this performance is a cause deeply personal to Powers: the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, which she founded to continue the conservation legacy of her longtime partner.
“Art and activism should go hand in hand,” she told me. “We come from a generation that marched, protested, and showed up. I worry that we’ve lost some of that urgency.”
The foundation focuses on wildlife conservation through education and alternatives to habitat destruction, operating an education center that serves 11,000–14,000 students annually, along with outreach programs in rural communities.
“There’s no such thing as ‘I’m just one person, what can I do,’” Powers emphasized. “You can do a lot.”
Notably, 100% of funds raised from the Love Letters performance go directly to the foundation’s work, with operational overhead covered by a single donor.
Event Details
Love Letters
Sunday, January 11, 2026
1:00 p.m.
Debbie Reynolds Stage, El Portal Theatre — North Hollywood
Tickets range from $55–$95, with a $150 VIP option that includes an on-stage meet-and-greet with the performers.
Proceeds benefit the William Holden Wildlife Foundation
Learn more at www.whwf.org
As our conversation came to a close, one thing was clear: Stefanie Powers continues to embody the rare balance of artistry, integrity, and purpose.
And with Love Letters, she invites audiences to listen, not just to a story, but to what it asks of us all.
