On The Stage
NOW
OPEN
NO
OPEN
No Longer Loners
NOW
OPEN
Naw
OPEN
Middle-age romance carries the day
in Talley's Folly at JET Theatre.
SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News
T
he play Talley Folly, the
next offering of the Jewish
Ensemble Theatre (JET), is
more about cultural than
religious differences, says playwright
Lanford Wilson.
JET'S two-character romantic comedy
chronicling the relationship between
Jewish accountant Matt Friedman and
non-Jewish nurse's aide Sally Talley in
1944 Missouri, runs Nov. 28-Dec. 31 at
the West Bloomfield Jewish Community
Center. Two New Year's Eve performanc-
es will become holiday celebrations with
refreshments at the first and a midnight
breakfast at the second.
Directed by JET Artistic Director
Evelyn Orbach, the play features Kelly
Pino, who appeared in JET'S Broken Glass
and serves on its play selection commit-
tee, and Tom Hoagland, who has per-
formed in JET'S outreach productions.
"Neither character is very religious,"
says Wilson, 64, who won the Pulitzer
Prize and New York Drama Critics'
Circle Award for this piece. "He's not
much of a practicing Jew, and religion
is a non-issue for her.
"This is the only feel-good play I've
written. Even though it's a romantic
comedy, it's not a frivolous romantic
comedy Under the surface and some-
times on the surface, they're dealing
with some very serious issues other than
whether or not they love each other.
"They both have to fight against
prejudice and their own fears. They're
both loners who happened to fall in
love, and it's scary to them. It's also fun
because each shows a sense of humor.
The play takes place in a deserted
boathouse on the Talley property,
where Friedman has come to profess
his love to Sally, a woman who is
uncertain about how she can handle
her family's disapproval.
The piece came to be written after
an actress in Fifth of July asked for
some background information on the
characters being portrayed. In addition
to providing that, Wilson decided it
could be the core for another project.
Wilson, who grew up in Missouri
where the play is set, became interest-
ed in theater after taking a play-writ-
ing course at the University of
Chicago in 1959. He soon moved to
New York City, where he thought
LONERS IN LOVE on page 79
"
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Playwright
Lanford Wilson
modeled his
character "Matt
Friedman" after
his own Jewish
accountant.
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