What It's About:

Based on a true story, this book smart drama tells the story of two passionate bibliophiles, New York writer Helene Hanff (Bancroft) and London antiquarian-bookshop manager Frank Doel (Hopkins), who develops a close friendship over 20 years after she writes his establishment requesting an edition of Pepyss diary. Though they never meet, their bond, at first cordial and businesslike, tightens over the years through a vigorous correspondence.

Why I Love It:

A love story for literate lonelyhearts, Jones's "Road" brings a lot of cheeky, intelligent charm to Hugh Whitemore's stage adaptation of the real-life Hanff's endearing memoir. Bancroft is splendid as the punchy middle-aged Manhattanite who finds an overseas soul mate in Doel, a staid, vaguely unhappy married man played with quintessential British reserve by Hopkins. By turns plaintive, witty, and poignant, "Road" rises high on the shoulders of its two magnificent leads. And though the epistolary conceit could have been tedious, Jones's inkwell never runs dry.