'A beautiful slice of life': 'Talley's Folly' follows social outcasts' love story

Matt Friedman believes he’s found true love in Sally Talley after they met the previous summer while he was on vacation. Since then, Matt has sent Sally a letter every day, receiving only one in return.

“Talley’s Folly” takes place in a boathouse near rural Lebanon, Missouri, on the Fourth of July in 1944. The Vortex Theatre is staging Lanford Wilson’s 1980 Pulitzer Prize-winning romantic comedy beginning on Friday, July 5.

It’s a play about those decisive moments in all of our lives when choice can lead to a destination.

The boathouse is the private hideaway for Sally Talley, the misfit of her family. She represses her longings behind a curtain of discretion, denying herself until she meets Matt Friedman. Matt is a Jewish accountant from St. Louis — bookish, erudite, a man who has, as he says, “a reading vocabulary, not a speaking vocabulary.” He uses big words voluminously and hilariously.

“They’re two social outcasts who connect with one another,” said director Brandon McDaniel. “If only they’re brave enough to admit it to each other.”

Gradually, Matt opens his life to his love, telling her of the tragedy and the mystery of his youth, telling his story of escape and exile.

With even greater reluctance, the shy Sally describes her estrangement from her family and her community. Despite the apparent differences between them, the two are emotionally in tune with each other — the opposite of star-crossed lovers.

“Talley’s Folly” confronts such important issues as prejudice, labor organizing, women’s rights and a nation emerging from war and facing a radical change in economy.

On the night of the play, at sundown, Matt has come to claim Sally for a marriage that their families will look upon with disdain.

“It deals with elements of the human condition that are universal,” McDaniel said. “It’s a beautiful slice of life.”