‘Talley’s Folly’

Lanford Wilson’s drama/romantic comedy is given a revival at Bristol Riverside Theatre.

By: Stuart Duncan

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As Sally, Lori Fischer resists romance with Matt (Buzz Bovshow) in Talley’s Folly at Bristol Riverside Theatre.


   Talley’s Folly is about a single evening in the courtship of two unlikely lovers. Sally Talley is from a conservative, wealthy, small-town family of bigoted Protestants. Matt Friedman is a Jewish accountant, almost a dozen years older than Sally. At 31, she is practically a middle-aged old maid — scrappy, short-tempered and often achingly vulnerable. He has the much more showy role; at 42 he is less inhibited, but just as much one of life’s walking wounded.
   The drama/romantic comedy by Lanford Wilson was nominated for Tony Awards and lost, but won the Pulitzer Prize in 1980. The current revival at Bristol Riverside Theatre is superb. A pair of fine actors, directed by Susan Atkinson, with a brilliant set design by newcomer Brian Ruggaber, make this production one of the finest at BRT in years.
   Playwright Wilson had written The Fifth of July and when an actress in a production of that play, playing the role of the recently widowed Aunt Sally, asked Wilson how the characters had arrived at that particular point in life, he responded by writing Talley’s Folly. The time was the Fourth of July some 33 years earlier, exactly the evening when Sally left her childhood home and admitted her love for her future husband.
   Two-character plays are tricky vehicles, but this one is full of talk without ever becoming "talky." In an intriguing prologue to the arrival on stage of Sally, Matt calls the evening "a 1-2-3 waltz." He goes on to fill the audience in on some of the issues his romance will touch: "There is a house on the hill up there, and there is a family that is not at peace, but in grave danger of prosperity. And there is a girl in the house on the hill up there who is a terrible embarrassment to her family because she remembers that old hope and questions this new fortune. And questioning eyes are hard to come by nowadays."
   As might be expected, much of the evening depends on the two actors who spend the 97 minutes with us, and BRT has a beautifully matched pair. Lori Fischer plays Sally with surface pique, covering barely disguised excitement. Her secret lies deep and is slow to appear, but once it does, acceptance is complete; Ms. Fischer is an accomplished writer and songwriter as well a track-and-field All-American.
   Buzz Bovshow is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, which explains his training and background in the classics; here he hits all the right notes as the determined suitor, ready to risk all on a single toss of love’s dice. It is a winning performance, made more enjoyable by his instant rapport with the audience from the first phrases of his monologue.
   The "Folly" of the title is the location of the tryst itself — a once-ornate Victorian boathouse, now somewhat overgrown with rotting boards. A row boat floats quietly at the end of the dock, never used (some productions actually use it briefly). Clearly it is a symbol of the grandeur of past family hopes and the decadence of current despair.
Talley’s Folly continues at Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, Pa., through Feb. 13. Performances: Wed. 2, 8 p.m.; Thurs.-Fri. 8 p.m.; Sat. 2, 8 p.m.; Sun. 3 p.m. Tickets cost $29-$37. For information, call (215) 785-0100. On the Web: www.brtstage.org