The fortitude and folly of love

Arguably the most poignant stage courtship since the balcony scene in “Romeo and Juliet,” Lanford Wilson’s “Talley’s Folly” continues to melt hearts in an elegantly crafted revival at the Pasadena Playhouse. Produced in partnership with the Arizona Theatre Company and fine-tuned in previous Phoenix and Tucson mountings, the piece arrives in a notably mature, well-honed state, a few missed performance shadings notwithstanding.

Like “5th of July” and “Talley and Sons” -- the sibling plays in Wilson’s trilogy set in Lebanon, Mo. -- “Talley’s Folly” is an intimate portrait of finely drawn characters caught up in shifting historical tides, in this case the closing years of World War II and the stirrings of optimism that accompanied them.

Reflecting in microcosm the national rebirth of hope for the future amid the adversity of a scarred and traumatized present, Wilson’s two-character comedy focuses on a union of opposites: Matt Friedman (Michael Santo), a 41-year-old German Jewish immigrant accountant, and Sally Talley (Angela Reed), daughter of well- to-do conservative Methodists.

Unlike Shakespeare’s starry-eyed youths, Matt and Sally are sadder and wiser in the ways of the world and the seemingly insurmountable social barriers that separate them. It is precisely because of this awareness that Matt’s determined pursuit of Sally achieves heroic stature.

Despite the backdrop of economic and cultural issues, director Andrew J. Traister and his accomplished cast understand that this is first and foremost a story about two wounded souls whose only chance for healing lies with each other. The production remains committed to the play’s simple, heartfelt truths without mistaking sentimentality for authentic feeling.

With its pared-down lack of explosive theatrics -- the entire piece is a one-scene reunion between Matt and Sally in her family’s dilapidated Victorian-style boathouse (breathtaking scenic design by D Martyn Bookwalter), a year after they had a brief affair -- Wilson’s play succeeds or fails on the basis of two essential criteria: Do we care about the characters, and do we feel there’s something important at stake for them?

On the first count, the production is an unqualified success. Santo’s wisecracking Matt is a perfectly rendered outsider assailing Sally’s well-defended castle, a New York-raised city boy hilariously trying to navigate an alien Midwestern heartland. With less teddy bear appeal than Judd Hirsch (for whom the role was written), the thin, hawkish Santo stakes out a sharper, angrier Matt -- a choice well supported in the character’s history as an orphaned refugee from a Europe where, as he puts it, people are very wasteful of people.

Reed’s Sally is an endearing portrait of an imprisoned freethinker peeking out from behind the veil of propriety. Her resistance to Matt’s advances is sweetly betrayed by her finding one pretext after another to continue their conversation. The performance embodies all the ambivalence and mixed messages of courtship.

When it comes to the stakes, Traister’s staging hits most of the right notes. It’s clear that this meeting is a last chance for both Matt and Sally. Their self-described “waltz” -- intricate steps weaving humor and pathos -- is impeccably executed.

Still, the slick assurance in Matt’s opening address to the audience, for all its perfect timing, lacks any trace of nervousness that would clue us in to the fact that he’s about to take the most important risk in his life. And although there are no missteps in the gradual erosion of Sally’s defenses, it would be nice to see her precise moment of surrender defined more clearly. After all her waffling, her agreeing to leave with Matt that very night is an obvious candidate for accenting, perhaps with a breath of liberated resolve.

Nevertheless, this production ensures that the fundamentals are all in place for a moving and schmaltz-free affirmation of romantic possibilities.

*

‘Talley’s Folly’

Where: Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena

When: Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 5 and 9 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 7 p.m.

Ends: Feb. 15

Price: $34.50-$49.50

Contact: (626) 356-7529

Running Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Angela Reed...Sally Talley

Michael Santo...Matt Friedman