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'Talley's Folly' - a Valentine of a romance Oregon Stage Works will open its 2003 season at 7 p.m., Thursday, February 20, at the Ashland Springs Hotel's newly remodeled Elfinwood Room with Lanford Wilson's "Talley's Folly." Starring in the prize-winning comedy are Peter Alzado, OSW's artistic director, and local actress Kate Sullivan. "Talley's Folly" has been described by one reviewer as "a lovingly crafted valentine of a romance. It manages to touch on prejudice and persecution, emotional fear and raw need� all by the light of the silvery moon." The play is set in early evening, on July 4, 1944 in an old, uncared-for Victorian boathouse on the Talley property in Lebanon, Missouri. After a year of thinking about it, Jewish accountant and forty-something bachelor Matt Friedman has come to Lebanon to see Sally Talley, whom he met the summer before and spent one week getting to know. Sally is the daughter of a rich, self-satisfied, bigoted family. At 31, she is a spinster with the kind of politics that makes her family want to lock her in the attic. Sally escapes to the rundown boathouse, a place - as Matt tells the audience - of willows, vines, moonlight, breezes, crickets and a band playing across the water. Matt tells stories and does bad impersonations. Sally resists. He prods. She yells. For Alzado, the play is particularly interesting because it's about two people who seem very different but are actually very much in sync with each other, "There is an analogue in the play about people having their shells cracked. They're both very protected people: each of these people has a very hard shell. They crack each other's shells. They spend a week together then he goes back and ruminates all year. He thinks about her and realizes that he, who never though about being happy, could be happy with her. By some quirk of fate he met her. And he's not going to give up this one chance at happiness." "Talley's Folly" is a celebration of vulnerability, tenacity and the courage it takes to expose oneself emotionally. Kate Sullivan holds Theatre Arts degrees from the University of Hawaii and has appeared with many Rogue Valley companies. Last December she was in OSW's premier production, "Inspecting Carol" and, last summer she appeared in the Actors' Theatre production of "How I Learned to Drive," directed by Caroline Shaffer. Earlier this year, she played in the Montana Repertory Theatre's film production of "Perchance to Dream." Peter Alzado made his Broadway acting debut in "Moon Children," directed by Alan Schneider. Alzado also acted in Michael Bennett's "Ballroom," and with the New York Shakespeare Festival, Phoenix Rep and the American Shakespeare Festival of Stratford, Connecticut. A graduate of Queens College, New York, Alzado has taught at the University of Rochester, Long Island University and the American Music and Drama Academy. For five years, he was artistic director of Actors' Theatre where he performed in "To Kill A Mockingbird," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "American Buffalo." Among productions he directed are "Ah! Wilderness," "The Dining Room, " "A Member of the Wedding," and "Children's Hour." Directing "Talley's Folly" is Leslie Muchmore, who brings to the play a broad theatrical background, ranging from teaching at Villanova and the College of William and Mary and serving as artistic director of the Virginia Shakespeare Festival, to appearing in the one-man show "Resolutions," which commemorates the founding of Crater Lake National Park, and acting and directing projects in the Rogue Valley including "To Kill A Mockingbird" and "American Buffalo". The Elfinwood Room has undergone a transformation for "Talley's Folly", with a set designed by Leslie Muchmore and built by Rico Herrera. The theater space - seating approximately 70 - has been designed by OSF's Jay Fenton. Previews for "Talley's Folly" will be at 7 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday, February 18 and 19. The show will run through March 16, with evening performances Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7 p.m. and matinees Sundays at 2 p.m.. Tickets are $17 general admission, $15 seniors and are available at Paddington Station, Ashland. For reservations and additional information, call 482-2334. LINKS: REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. DAILY TIDINGS: Main | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -