2006-09-16-talley

By Cynthia Citron

BURBANK - First there was “Abie’s Irish Rose.” Then, on TV, “Bridget and Bernie” and “Darma and Greg.” So Lanford Wilson’s “Talley’s Folly” will hardly strike you as a brand new idea. But, as presented by Syzygy Theatre Group in their new home in Burbank, this “he’s Jewish, she’s not” courtship story is a smooth and pleasant presentation of the theme.

She, Sally Talley, is not only from a wealthy, bigoted Protestant family, she’s also Southern (from Missouri, actually, but the attitude is left over from the Civil War). Could she be more WASPy than that? He, Matt Friedman, is older, balding, a little paunchy, an accountant, a Yankee, and a Jew. As played by Amy Honey and William Salyers, they appear to be a sweet but ordinary couple with almost nothing in common.

They are meeting clandestinely in a ramshackle boat house on her property. Her family would probably shoot him if they knew he was there. But the site has happy memories for him: a year earlier they had carried on a brief affair there. Since then he has written to her every day; she has written only once: a terse note telling him not to write. But, undaunted, he has returned to woo her once again.

Salyers looks a lot like James Lipton of “The Actor’s Studio” but without the savoir faire. He plays it clumsy. She plays it awkward---not cutesy nor coy, which is a blessing. She is very clear that she wants no part of him and spends most of the play fending him off.

There is more to each of them than meets the eye, of course. His back-story is especially dramatic, and he tells it with an emotional churning that touches your heart. And in the end, love conquers all, as you knew it would.

“Talley’s Folly” is an intelligent, if somewhat predictable play that won a Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Lanford Wilson in 1980. This current production is directed by Darin Anthony, who adroitly moves his actors around a very cramped, crowded, and effective set designed by Jason Z. Cohen and dramatically lit by designer Dan Reed. It provides a pleasant evening with a talented theater company. Oh, and about that name—syzygy refers to the alignment of three heavenly bodies, as in an eclipse. In this case, the three are the audience, the playwright, and the producing artists. Aren’t you glad you asked?

“Talley’s Folly” will be playing at 1111-B West Olive Avnue in Burbank through Saturday, October 14th.