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Collected Works, Vol. 3: The Talley Trilogy
The fourth volume of Smith and Kraus' publication of the complete works of playwright Lanford Wilson. The plays in this volume include Fifth of July, Talley's Folly (the winner of the 1980 Pulitzer Prize) and Talley and Son. This collection will include introductory notes by the playwright, original cast and production information. From the New York Times: One of the rewards of the plays in the unfolding Talley Cycle is our knowledge of the interrelated, reflected worlds. When a character opens the door in Talley & Son, we hear the sound of crickets and dance music--and we remember that as a counterpoint to the bickering in the main house, Sally (in Talley's Folly) is down at the boathouse affirming her love for Matt Friedman. Turn the set around and walk through a Wilson time warp and we would see the family years later in the marvelous 5th of July.
- GenresPlays
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
14 people want to read
About the author
Lanford Wilson
95 books26 followersLanford Wilson was an American playwright, considered one of the founders of the Off-Off-Broadway theater movement. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1980, was elected in 2001 to the Theater Hall of Fame, and in 2004 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 18, 2017
Talley’s Folly, the second of the Talley trilogy and the winner of a Pulitzer Prize, is the strongest (by far) of the four plays in this collection.
Fifth of July, the first of the Talley trilogy, was mostly forgettable (for this reader anyway), full of a lot of ideas and amusing characters but not saying particularly much. As far as being a good representation of the narcissistic naval-gazing done by the Baby Boomers, it’s well done.
Talley and Sons and A Tale Told are the same play, merely rewritten. Taking place at the same time as Talley’s Folly, the story is stronger than Fifth of July but entirely too scattered and jam-packed. The concept of a play over a short period of time when a ton of things happen can work well, but here, given some of the events, it ends up missing the emotional mark.
Of the two, Talley and Sons, which is the later version, is stronger, but it still falls more flat than not.
Which brings us to Talley’s Folly, a simple, enchanting story of love. In his introduction to the play, Mr. Wilson seems almost embarrassed by Talley’s Folly, repeatedly defending his choice to write a play about two people who love each other. He says it’s based off the love stories of the 1930s then quickly goes onto explain how it’s deeper and different than those tales.
EMBRACE WHAT YOU WRITE. DON’T APOLOGIZE.
The funny thing is, Talley’s Folly, perhaps because of its simplicity, ends up being the most emotionally moving and genuine of the three. Nothing big happens, but it’s exactly because nothing big happens that the play works so very well. Give me simple, relatable characters with simple, relatable problems in a well-told story over neurotic, melodramatic idiots any day of the week.
Recommended mostly for Talley’s Folly.
Fifth of July, the first of the Talley trilogy, was mostly forgettable (for this reader anyway), full of a lot of ideas and amusing characters but not saying particularly much. As far as being a good representation of the narcissistic naval-gazing done by the Baby Boomers, it’s well done.
Talley and Sons and A Tale Told are the same play, merely rewritten. Taking place at the same time as Talley’s Folly, the story is stronger than Fifth of July but entirely too scattered and jam-packed. The concept of a play over a short period of time when a ton of things happen can work well, but here, given some of the events, it ends up missing the emotional mark.
Of the two, Talley and Sons, which is the later version, is stronger, but it still falls more flat than not.
Which brings us to Talley’s Folly, a simple, enchanting story of love. In his introduction to the play, Mr. Wilson seems almost embarrassed by Talley’s Folly, repeatedly defending his choice to write a play about two people who love each other. He says it’s based off the love stories of the 1930s then quickly goes onto explain how it’s deeper and different than those tales.
EMBRACE WHAT YOU WRITE. DON’T APOLOGIZE.
The funny thing is, Talley’s Folly, perhaps because of its simplicity, ends up being the most emotionally moving and genuine of the three. Nothing big happens, but it’s exactly because nothing big happens that the play works so very well. Give me simple, relatable characters with simple, relatable problems in a well-told story over neurotic, melodramatic idiots any day of the week.
Recommended mostly for Talley’s Folly.
Displaying 1 of 1 review