Talley & Son
Encyclopedia
Talley & Son is a play by Lanford Wilson
, the third in his trilogy focusing on the Talley family of Lebanon, Missouri
. It is set on July 4, 1944, the same day as Talley's Folly
and thirty-three years prior to the events in Fifth of July
.
The play originally was produced as A Tale Told in 1981. Wilson was unhappy with the work and revised it substantially over the next four years. In Talley & Son, the dysfunctional family
is debating the murky future of the family-owned businesses, a local bank and textile factory that seem destined to be absorbed by a conglomerate
once World War II
ends. Eldon Talley took control of the enterprises when his favored, elder brother died young, and although he has been successful, his miserly, bigoted father Calvin, who is expected to die at any moment, despises him and his efforts to defy his authority. Other characters include Eldon's spinster sister Lottie, a cynical rebel dying of industrial radium
poisoning; his complacent wife Netta; their daughter Sally, who is dating a Jewish accountant; and Avalaine Platt, a mysterious visitor who claims she is Eldon's illegitimate daughter. Quietly observing the scene is the spirit of Timmy, Eldon and Netta's son, who has just been killed in battle in the South Pacific
and has returned home a few hours before his parents receive the telegram announcing his death.
Directed by Marshall W. Mason
, the play opened on September 24, 1985 at the off-Broadway
Circle Repertory Theater
in Greenwich Village
and ran for 42 performances. The cast included Farley Granger
as Eldon, Edward Seamon as Calvin, Joyce Reehling Christopher as Lottie, Helen Stenborg
as Netta, Trish Hawkins as Sally, Lisa Emery
as Viola, and Robert Macnaughton as Timmy. Both Granger and Stenborg won the Obie Award
for their performances.
In his review in the New York Times, Frank Rich
said the play "is, for much of its length, amusing entertainment." He continued, "But if Mr. Wilson has been, on other occasions, a persuasive heir to Tennessee Williams
, in this play he remains an unconvincing stand-in for Lillian Hellman
," and called Talley & Son "a Little Foxes
without bite but with perhaps even more plot." He added, "Still, for all the flaws that remain from A Tale Told, the improvements in Talley & Son are real. What was a dull, superficial play is now a superficial play that clicks smartly along until mid-Act II. In addition to tightening, focusing and clarifying (one need no longer refer constantly to the family tree in the program), Mr. Wilson has added a goodly share of funny lines . . . Even so, as far as Talley & Son is concerned, the honorable time may have come for Mr. Wilson to give up the ghost."
Lanford Wilson
Lanford Wilson was an American playwright who helped to advance 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...
, the third in his trilogy focusing on the Talley family of Lebanon, Missouri
Lebanon, Missouri
Lebanon is a city in Laclede County, Missouri, United States. The estimated population in July 2009 was 14,292. The population was 12,155 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Laclede County. The Lebanon Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of Laclede County.-Geography:Lebanon is located at...
. It is set on July 4, 1944, the same day as Talley's Folly
Talley's Folly
Talley's Folly is a 1979 play by American playwright Lanford Wilson, the second in his cycle, The Talley Trilogy between his plays Talley & Son and Fifth of July. Set in an old boathouse near rural Lebanon, Missouri in 1944, it is a romantic comedy following the characters Matt Friedman and Sally...
and thirty-three years prior to the events in Fifth of July
Fifth of July
Fifth of July is a 1978 play by American playwright Lanford Wilson. Set in rural Missouri in 1977, it revolves around the Talley family and their friends, and focuses on the disillusionment with America in the wake of the Vietnam War...
.
The play originally was produced as A Tale Told in 1981. Wilson was unhappy with the work and revised it substantially over the next four years. In Talley & Son, the dysfunctional family
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
is debating the murky future of the family-owned businesses, a local bank and textile factory that seem destined to be absorbed by a conglomerate
Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
once World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
ends. Eldon Talley took control of the enterprises when his favored, elder brother died young, and although he has been successful, his miserly, bigoted father Calvin, who is expected to die at any moment, despises him and his efforts to defy his authority. Other characters include Eldon's spinster sister Lottie, a cynical rebel dying of industrial radium
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...
poisoning; his complacent wife Netta; their daughter Sally, who is dating a Jewish accountant; and Avalaine Platt, a mysterious visitor who claims she is Eldon's illegitimate daughter. Quietly observing the scene is the spirit of Timmy, Eldon and Netta's son, who has just been killed in battle in the South Pacific
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
and has returned home a few hours before his parents receive the telegram announcing his death.
Directed by Marshall W. Mason
Marshall W. Mason
Marshall W. Mason is an American theater director, the founder and for eighteen years, artistic director of the Circle Repertory Company in New York City....
, the play opened on September 24, 1985 at the off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
Circle Repertory Theater
Circle Repertory Company
The Circle Repertory Company, originally named the Circle Theater Company, was a theatre company in New York City that ran from 1969 to 1996. It was founded on July 14, 1969, in Manhattan, in a second floor loft at Broadway and 83rd Street by director Marshall W...
in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
and ran for 42 performances. The cast included Farley Granger
Farley Granger
Farley Earle Granger was an American actor. In a career spanning several decades, he was perhaps best known for his two collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Rope in 1948 and Strangers on a Train in 1951.-Early life:...
as Eldon, Edward Seamon as Calvin, Joyce Reehling Christopher as Lottie, Helen Stenborg
Helen Stenborg
Helen Joan Stenborg was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She occasionally acted with her husband, actor Barnard Hughes , to whom she was married from 1950 until his death in 2006; they had two children.-Career:Stenborg appeared on stage in revivals of A Doll's House, A Month...
as Netta, Trish Hawkins as Sally, Lisa Emery
Lisa Emery
Lisa Emery is an American stage, film, and television actress.Emery was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the daughter of an aspiring actress from Charlottesville, Virginia and an advertising executive who worked in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania...
as Viola, and Robert Macnaughton as Timmy. Both Granger and Stenborg won the Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
for their performances.
In his review in the New York Times, Frank Rich
Frank Rich
Frank Rich is an American essayist and op-ed columnist who wrote for The New York Times from 1980, when he was appointed its chief theatre critic, until 2011...
said the play "is, for much of its length, amusing entertainment." He continued, "But if Mr. Wilson has been, on other occasions, a persuasive heir to Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
, in this play he remains an unconvincing stand-in for Lillian Hellman
Lillian Hellman
Lillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
," and called Talley & Son "a Little Foxes
The Little Foxes
The Little Foxes is a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 in the Song of Solomon in the King James version of the Bible, which reads, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." Set in a small town in Alabama in...
without bite but with perhaps even more plot." He added, "Still, for all the flaws that remain from A Tale Told, the improvements in Talley & Son are real. What was a dull, superficial play is now a superficial play that clicks smartly along until mid-Act II. In addition to tightening, focusing and clarifying (one need no longer refer constantly to the family tree in the program), Mr. Wilson has added a goodly share of funny lines . . . Even so, as far as Talley & Son is concerned, the honorable time may have come for Mr. Wilson to give up the ghost."