Lanford Wilson doesn’t want there to be any confusion at the beginning of Talley’s Folly, it will be a love story, a valentine, as he has Matt Friedman describe to the audience before the house lights have dimmed. Talley’s Folly is, at its core, a romance. A story about two people, who don’t quite fit into the world around them, trying to connect and see if there is the possibility of sharing a future together. 

 

In navigating this relationship, Talley’s Folly also explores themes of prejudice, tolerance, gender roles, and the conflict between traditional values and modern life. Matt Friedman is an accountant and a Jewish immigrant. Sally Talley is the unmarried daughter of a wealthy Methodist family. On the surface, the two do not have much in common, besides the memorable week that they spent together during the summer of 1943. Now, on July 4, 1944, Matt has returned to convince Sally Talley to marry him. 

 

Talley’s Folly is the centerpiece of what has become known as the “Talley Trilogy.” The other two plays that comprise the set are Talley & Son and Fifth of July. Wilson set these three shows in rural Missouri outside the town of Lebanon, which is the place where he spent much of his childhood. Talley & Son is set on the same day as Talley’s Folly, and in the show reveals more of the inner workings and conflict within the Talley family. Fifth of July is set in 1977, and the action revolves around Sally’s nephew, Kenneth Talley Jr., attempting to sell the family house.  

 

Talley’s Folly was well-received by critics when it debuted in New York. For his review in Library Journal, Gerard M. Molyneaux stated, “It is not the plot that holds the reader’s interest, but Wilson’s craftsmanship, his sense of timing and humor, his sensitive use of language.” Walter Kerr, of the New York Times, was won over by the tone and the energy, “Talley’s Folly is a charmer, filled to the brim with hope, humor, and chutzpah.” 

 

In 1979, Talley’s Folly premiered at the Circle Repertory Company, of which playwright Lanford Wilson and original director Marshall Mason were founding members. This production then transferred to Broadway in February of 1980, where it ran at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre for 286 performances. The show has since been produced across the country at regional and community theaters, as well as on college campuses. There was a New York revival in 2013 by the Roundabout Theatre Company, starring Danny Burstein as Matt Friedman and Sarah Paulson as Sally Talley. Talley’s Folly won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1980.