Talley's Folly
by Lanford Wilson

Name: Talley's Folly
Brand: Lanford Wilson
SKU: 9780822216261
Rating: 3.83 (41 reviews)

Broadway Off-Broadway West End

Talley's Folly Book Cover — Talley's Folly Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

105 mins 1940s/WWII Strong Role for Leading Man (Star Vehicle) Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle) Exterior Set Period Costumes Comedy

Awards & Recognition

Drama Critics Circle Drama Desk Award Pulitzer Prize Tony Award

Winner! 1980 Pulitzer Prize for Drama Winner! 1980 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play Nominee: 1980 Tony Award for Best Play Nominee: 1979-1980 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play

Synopsis

The time is 1944, and the place is the ornate, deserted Victorian boathouse on the Talley property in Lebanon, MO.

Matt Friedman, an accountant from St. Louis, has arrived to plead his love to Sally Talley, the uncertain daughter of the family.

Bookish, erudite, totally honest and delightfully funny, Sally rebuffs him, but Matt refuses to accept her fears that her family would never approve of their marriage.

Charming and indomitable, he gradually overcomes her defenses, telling his innermost secrets to his loved one and in return, learning hers as well.

Gradually he awakens Sally to the possibilities of a life together until, in the final, touching moments of this Pulitzer Prize-winning play, it is clear that they are two kindred spirits who have truly found each other.

Press Reviews

"Mr. Wilson is one of our most gifted playwrights, a dramatist who deals perceptively with definably American themes… he introduces us to two wonderful people, humanizing and warming them with the radiance of his abundant talent. Talley's Folly is a play to savor and cheer."
— The New York Times

"Theatre doesn’t get much better than playwright Wilson’s achingly romantic valentine to that most human folly: love."
— Backstage

"The show consists of just two characters, who must overcome caution, prejudices and the obligatory secrets to come to terms with their feelings for each other. They are so bruised, so tender that it's practically impossible not to root for them."
— New York Post

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Sally Talley 31, light-skinned, thin, quite attractive but not glamorous	—	—	31, light-skinned, thin, quite attractive but not glamorous
Matt Friedman 42, darker-skinned, a rather large man	—	—	42, darker-skinned, a rather large man