The
Chamber Theatre brings its usual finesse and careful adherence to the spirit of
the text in their thoughtful new production of Talley’s Folly, Lanford Wilson’s 1980 Pulitzer Prize-winning play and
recipient of the New York Drama Critic’s Circle Award .The play is the second
in Wilson’s “Talley Trilogy,” all successfully produced. With such
distinguished credentials, audiences may feel an uneasy sense of
disappointment at the dialogue’s initial lack of focus, a requirement so
important in a two-character play.
While
miscommunication is not a new theme in contemporary drama, Talley’s Folly takes too much time zeroing in on what these
characters are all about. It takes a while before what appear to be pointless
recollections between these two begin to coalesce into meaningful
exchanges. We are informed that Sally Talley, a Midwestern “golden girl”
returns to her old homestead in Lebanon, Mo. to find her old suitor—witty and
outspoken Jewish accountant Matt Friedman, waiting to renew something that
never worked well to begin with. There seems to be little chemistry between
them and it is not easy to believe that they were once an item, having so
little in common.
As played by Laura Gray, Talley—clearly a product of the
Ozarks—registers peevish impatience at Friedman’s initial attempts at
familiarity. Jonathan West as Matt carries the day with his assured urbane
charm. While both performers are excellent individually, the opening sequences
give them few chances to jell. They are like apples and oranges—which is the
main theme of the play—or as Matt states, two lonely people with shells as
fragile as eggs afraid to be cracked on contact. He accuses her of being an old
maid in the making. She forces him to face his family issues. This is
1944 and his people, he tells us, have left Nazi Europe. He impels her to
confront the real reason for her family’s rejection, which leads to the play’s
final climactic episode. These are imperfect people and the play eventually addresses
Talley’s jealously guarded, painful experiences that
finally bring them together.
Ultimately, Talley’s Folly wins
over the audience .The appeal lies in a basic conviction which always ring
true—that people are often drawn together by their unique, often painful,
critical experiences, and that the basic value of that experience overshadows
any other differences between dissimilar personalities. So artistic
integrity carries the day, and the play becomes a satisfying crowd-pleaser
after all.
Runs through May 4.
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