Lanford Wilson’s “Talley’s Folly” is one of those plays artistic directors schedule when they want a low-budget, surefire audience pleaser. And please it does when staged as delightfully as it is here. North Coast artistic director David Ellenstein has put together a winning team: expert director David Ellenstein and a charming cast of two: Amy Biedel and David Ellenstein.

Ellenstein had directed “Folly” before but hadn’t acted in it. His performance is a reminder of how good he is on stage and inspires hope that he’ll find time to take on more roles.

“Folly,” the second in Wilson’s “Talley Trilogy,” opened in New York in 1979. It was a major hit and won several awards, including the 1980 Pulitzer for drama. Its mixture of comedy and romance — a different type of World War II love story — has sustained its popularity and kept it appearing regularly on the nation’s stages.

Ellenstein, Biedel

Photo by Aaron Rumley

It takes place July 4, 1944, in a dilapidated Victorian-style boathouse — the “folly” of the title — near Lebanon, Mo. Matt, a St. Louis accountant, has returned to woo Sally, whom he met and romanced a year ago while vacationing in the area. He’s been writing to her ever since, even though she replied by asking him not to write her anymore and to forget about her.

The problem: he’s Jewish and thus unacceptable to most of her biased Protestant family. Although they’d like to see Sally marry — at 31, she’s regarded as a spinster — they don’t want her to wed this “communist.” Thus she, figuring their relationship has no future, tries to discourage Matt. But he’s dedicated and persistent, so they keep talking and learning about each other’s lives and backgrounds, both of which include tragedies.

Matt relates a philosophy he heard — that people are like eggs, afraid to bump into each other for fear of cracking their shells. Gradually, he and Sally crack their shells.

Any seriousness gets leavened with funny lines. Matt, frustrated by the local bigotry: “When they were passing out logic, everyone in the Ozarks was on a marshmallow roast.” Sally, indicating that she wanted to better understand Matt and his religion: “I reread the Old Testament.” Additionally and humorously, Ellenstein’s skill at imitating manners and dialects makes unseen characters, like Sally’s brother, seem tangible.

Biedel, sporting a consistent Missouri accent, captures Sally’s ability to keep her feelings in check until those moments when her emotions, like anger and anguish, roil to the surface. And, not incidentally, she looks especially fetching in the puffy-sleeved frock provided by costumer Jemima Dutra.

The boathouse is described somewhat in Wilson’s script — lattice work, louvers, like a gazebo — but Marty Burnett goes above and beyond, almost turning the set into a third character. Aided by scenic artist John Finkbiner and Annie Bornhurst’s perfectly chosen props — including a rowboat — Burnett has created the kind of magical place where lovers go to hide away. Around it, there’s so much greenery that it appears the theater wall has somehow been removed.

Jason Beiber’s lighting adds to that illusion, beautifully taking the boathouse from twilight into night. And Chris Luessmann provides apropos sounds, like evening crickets and holiday band music in the distance.

Cast and credits