When a husband and wife work together, there is always a chance of marital disharmony. But that is not the case for Brian Rabinowitz and Jocelyn Adamski of Winfield, who are performing together in The Riverfront Playhouse’s production of “Talley’s Folly.” The duo also is codirecting the play.
“We are very open about it,” said Adamski about giving each other criticism. “We get along. We are honest with each other. We both want to do the best work we can.”
The Riverfront Playhouse will present the romantic comedy “Talley’s Folly” by Lanford Wilson at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays from May 20 to June 18. Two Sunday matinees will be presented at 3 p.m. June 5 and June 12. Wilson won a Pulitzer Prize in Drama for the play in 1980.
The play takes place in a deserted Victorian-style boathouse on the Talley property in Lebanon, Missouri, on July 4, 1944. The main characters are Matt Friedman, played by Rabinowitz, a Jewish accountant from St. Louis, and Sally Talley, played by Adamski, the daughter of a conservative, wealthy family of Protestants.
The previous summer, Matt met Sally on vacation, and they enjoyed an unlikely, whirlwind romance. In the year that followed, Matt sent Sally a letter every day and in return Sally only wrote him back once. Matt refuses to accept Sally’s rebuffs and her fears that her family would never approve of their marriage.
“Talley’s Folly” is the second in The Talley Trilogy, between Wilson’s plays “Talley & Son” and “Fifth of July.” “Talley’s Folly” ran on Broadway from Feb. 20 to Oct. 19, 1980, for 286 performances.
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“It’s a window into an evening of their lives,” Adamski said.
Although the show is set in World War II, Adamski believes it has a stronger significance in current times.
“During WWII, people were living in uncertainty and worry,” she said. “We can relate to that now as COVID has us experiencing the same feelings. In the show, Sally wants to wait for normalcy. Matt can’t wait. He wants to move forward and find happiness now. So the play may have even stronger resonance now than then.”
The Riverfront presentation is the second time that Rabinowitz and Adamski have performed in the show together.
“We did a small workshop production of ‘Talley’s Folly’ nine years ago in a garden setting on the grounds of the Arlington Heights Historical Museum,” Adamski said. “I pitched the idea of this show to Riverfront and they loved the idea.”
Performing the same show several years later does result in some alterations.
“There are slight changes in the interpretation,” Adamski said. “The more you have lived, the more experience you bring to a role.”
The two performers also have experience working together in other shows.
“We met while doing a show where we played a husband and wife,” Adamski said. “It was ‘The Miracle Worker’ and we played Helen Keller’s parents. That was with The Village Players in Oak Park in 2009.”
The two married in 2012.
They also performed in “The Importance of Being Earnest” together with Janus Theatre in Elgin in 2011. When Rabinowitz directed “The Diary of Anne Frank” at The Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in the early 2010’s, Adamski appeared in the show on two different occasions.
Adamski said that codirecting a show together can be demanding, but she and her husband rely on Assistant Director Meg McGarry for some guidance.
“Wearing both hats of acting and directing can be challenging,” Adamski said, “but Meg has her eyes on us. We respect her having her eye on things and giving us feedback.”
In addition to being the assistant director, McGarry and her husband, Kevin Loeper, are understudies for the show. The married couple from Plano will perform in the June 4 show.
“We have done several shows with Meg,” Adamski said. “I think it is important for the chemistry of the piece that it be a husband and wife in the roles. Having them perform in one show is something we wanted to offer them because we really respect them as artists.”
Adamski finds “Talley’s Folly” appealing on several levels.
“The show really is a slice of life,” she said. “And there is the relevancy of today. How do you live your life when there are other things going on? It really is a beautiful love story between two people.”
‘Talley’s Folly’
When: May 20-June 18
Where: The Riverfront Playhouse, 11-13 South Water Street Mall, Aurora
Tickets: $15-$17
Information: 630-897-9496; riverfrontplayhouse.com
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Randall G. Mielke is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.