‘Fifth of July’ at Princeton Summer Theater — A review | Movies | NewJerseyNewsroom.com -- Your State. Your News.

BY STUART DUNCAN

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

N.J. THEATER REVIEW

The Princeton Summer Theater, with a courageous blend of undergraduate, graduate and professional talent. Has had a strong season. Outstanding productions of "The Heidi Chronicles" and "The Taming of the Shrew" preceded a flawed but impressive Shaw's "Misalliance." But the final production of the summer, Lanford Wilson's "Fifth of July" sadly misses the mark.

The play is part of a trilogy, focusing on the Talley family of Lebanon, Missouri. Apparently playwright Wilson penned the work as a reply to the actress who originated the role of Sally Talley when, in rehearsal, she asked for guidance and insight into her character. "Fifth of July" is set in the year 1977; "Talley's Folly" takes place in the 1940s. Her fiancé of the earlier show is now dead, his ashes in a candy box which his widow carts around and frequently forgets.

And this play focuses on Kenneth Talley, Jr. who was badly wounded in the Vietnam War, having lost both legs. He has returned to the old homestead. Ready to sell it and give up his teaching job and his life with Jed, the gardener who has two loves — his plants and Ken. On this particular holiday weekend, Ken's sister June has come back, accompanied by her precocious, dramatic 13-year-old daughter. Also there are John and Gwen Landis who expect to purchase the property. She is a hard-drinking, pill-popping heiress who yearns to be a rock star; he is a shrewd, calculating, wary husband. The pair is trailed by Weston Hurley, a slow-thinking, but guitar-playing groupie.

The fireworks of the 60's clearly have fizzled out and we are left with the hangover of the 70's.

Now it takes strong performances and inspired direction to move these ingredients towards an intelligent path with a mood that flirts with both comedy and pathos. It is here that the production sags. There are strong performances, particularly from Rebecca Foresman, as Aunt Sally and Heather May as Shirley (the 13-year-old). But several of the characters seem to be searching for motivation and none have caught the particular tone of the post-Vietnam era.

Nor is the staging helped by the set — a massive set of steps and little else. It gives the show the feeling of a staged reading, rather than conveying the isolation of the Talley home. What we miss is the feeling that we know these people and care about them. What we miss is the sad taste left by a generation in search of real meaning. What is left is a group of grumbling misfits, searching not for a solution, but someone to blame.

And that's not what playwright Wilson intended.

"Fifth of July" plays this weekend, Aug. 12-15 at Murray Theater on the campus of Princeton University. Call (609) 258-7062 or visit theater website.