Steven Gale's critique of Talley's Folly praises the production's cast and staging for presenting a unique insight into Wilson's view of human nature.

As part of its fifteenth annual tour, the Missouri Repertory Theatre's staging of Lanford Wilson's Talley's Folly was crisply directed by James Assad, a former MRT member who returned from a teaching stint in New York City, and starred Jeannine Hutchings as Sally Talley and David Schuster as Matt Friedman. The high quality of the cast did full credit to Wilson's 1980 Pulitzer Prize winning play. Set in the Talley family's Victorian boathouse in Lebanon, Missouri on July 4, 1944, the romance begins with Matt walking into the auditorium while the house lights are still up, as though to make an announcement. He sits on the pit apron and conversationally begins filling in the drama's background in a casual, neighborly tone. Soon his dialogue becomes tinged with...