Talley & Son, written by Wilson in 1981, shows what the rest of the Talley family is doing up at the house while Matt and Sally are talking in the boathouse on July 4, 1944. As the family copes with the death of a relative in World War II and with the probable dissolution of the family business, Sally returns to the house to pack for her elopement.

Fifth of July (1978) was the first of Wilson's Talley family plays to be produced, but it is set in 1977, the most recent in terms of the family's history. It focuses on Ken Talley, Jr., a Vietnam veteran who has lost both legs in the war, and on his decision to sell the Talley property where Aunt Sally—after a long and happy marriage to Matt—has recently scattered her dead husband's ashes.

Beast on...