Jack Ludwig and Louise Rabiner haven’t met in person, but as World War II rages they strike up a long distance, pen-pal friendship that evolves into something close and confessional.
He’s an army doctor from rural Pennsylvania, she’s an aspiring New York City actress. And as Ken Ludwig’s play Dear Jack, Dear Louise unspools, their paths grow even farther apart (he’s sent to Europe to patch up the boys broken in battle). What do they have in common?
Dear Jack, Dear Louise is what’s known as an epistolary play, in that the dialogue is primarily presented as letters, from one to the other.
In the Tampa Repertory Theatre production onstage through July 26, Jack and Louise are played by two of the bay area’s most watchable fresh faces: Cameron Kubly as Jack, and Katie Davis as Louise.
Cameron Kubly and Katie Davis.
Although Louise and Jack don’t technically “share” scenes, or even make eye contact, Davis and Kubly are in constant dialogue with one another. “Because it’s just the two of us onstage, and it’s just up to us, I think having fun with him and forgetting that we’re acting is my favorite part,” says Davis.
It’s the third major bay area play so far in 2026 for Davis, a native of Pasco County. In January, she co-starred in freeFall’s Himself and Nora; come May, she was onstage as Cinderella in American Stage’s Into the Woods.
After performances with the Marcia P. Hoffman School of the Arts (at Ruth Eckerd Hall) and the Patel Conservatory (at the Straz Center), Davis made her local professional debut with the Tampa Repertory production of The Bridges of Madison County in 2025.
She had just moved back to the area then, after receiving a BFA in Musical Theatre from Montclair State University in New Jersey.
“Like Louise, Broadway is definitely my big dream one day,” Davis says. “I would love to do it, but I think there’s something so special about gaining those skills, and knowing if you can handle that rather than jumping right in.
“I was very lucky to go to a school that was right outside of the city in Jersey. And I was able to be there and go into the city for auditions here and there. I got the feel of it, but I really was homesick.”
Still, Dear Jack, Dear Louise (directed by Robin Gordon) isn’t a musical. That was a new challenge. “Not only a play, but a two-person play! I hope that I can continue to do these types of things, these really dramatic and hilarious pieces of work. Because there’s so many out there.”
Davis says she related to the character immediately, from her strident Noo Yawk accent to the passion for theater (she gives Jack the lowdown on Oklahoma!, Helzapoppin’ and Blithe Spirit in her missives). “My parents are from New York,” she explains. “My dad’s from Brooklyn, my mom’s from the Bronx. So I have a deep connection there.
“And I also am an aspiring actress myself, and I’m all over the place auditioning, all the time, and I know how hard it is to get ‘the job.’ And how much it can impact you when you see a show.”
The play veers from heart-wrenching (it is wartime, after all) to laugh-out loud funny, to that indefinable place in between. “Letter-writing was probably one of the most intimate things you could do at that time,” Davis enthuses.
“There are moments where it’s light, but it really gets deep. It takes you on this roller coaster, and you’re on the edge of your seat, wondering what’s going to happen next.”
Dear Jack, Dear Louise is presented in the Straz Center Shimberg Playhouse. Find all showtimes and tickets here.