Review: Talley’s Folly

Review: Talley’s Folly | Three Leaches Theatre | Lakewood, CO | Curtain Up! | Eric Fitzgerald

Three Leaches Theater on Teller Street in Lakewood offers a gently scaled but thoughtfully rendered take on Lanford Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize–winning Talley’s Folly, produced by Melissa Leach and directed by Patrick Leach. This intimate chamber piece—essentially a duet between two wary souls circling the possibility of love—unfolds in real time, its emotional stakes rising not through action but through revelation.

Over its 97 unbroken minutes, Talley’s Folly follows Matt Friedman (Franc Gaxiola), a middle‑aged Jewish accountant who arrives at the Talley family’s boathouse with the kind of hopeful determination that borders on foolishness, and Sally Talley (Veronica Straight-Lingo), the sharp, self‑protective daughter of a rigid Missouri clan who would prefer not to reopen old doors. What unfolds is less a courtship than a careful negotiation: two people circling the possibility of connection, testing how much truth they can bear to share. In real time, Matt’s earnest charm presses against Sally’s practiced defenses, and the evening becomes a slow, tender excavation of why love feels both necessary and perilous to them.

As Matt Friedman, Franc Gaxiola offers a performance shaped by warmth and quiet intelligence; he gives Matt’s persistence a human pulse rather than a theatrical device, letting the character’s humor and hesitations land with an easy, lived‑in charm. But it’s Veronica Straight‑Lingo who truly anchors the evening. Her Sally Talley is beautifully calibrated — crisp and guarded at first, then gradually shading into something far more vulnerable and affecting. She has a way of letting emotion flicker across her face for half a second before she speaks, giving the role depth and immediacy that feel entirely earned. Together, the two create a partnership that feels tender, tentative, and deeply human.

L to R: Veronica Straight-Lingo as Sally Talley and Franc Gaxiola as Matt Friedman

Patrick Leach’s direction has that quiet, steady assurance that never calls attention to itself but earns your confidence moment by moment. He leans into the play’s spare architecture, trusting Wilson’s language and the actors’ instincts rather than trying to stir up movement the script doesn’t ask for. The staging stays clean and unforced, letting the boathouse feel like a place where truth can rise in its own time, guided by a gentle, almost musical sense of pacing. He gives Franc Gaxiola the room to let Matt’s charm and awkwardness sit comfortably side by side, and he allows Veronica Straight‑Lingo to let Sally’s defenses slip in those small, telling increments that feel lived rather than engineered. The result is a production that breathes—unhurried, attentive, and grounded in the belief that two people talking can still be riveting when the listening is as carefully shaped as the speaking.

L to R: Franc Gaxiola as Matt Friedman and Veronica Straight-Lingo as Sally Talley

The production doesn’t list formal design credits, but the visual world is kept simple and effective. The set suggests the boathouse without fuss, and the costumes are appropriately chosen to ground Matt and Sally in their moment without drawing attention to themselves. The lighting — presumably the work of technical director JC Maheu — provides the quiet shifts the play needs, warming and softening as the characters do. It’s a modest, well‑judged design that supports the story rather than competing with it.

It all comes together as a quietly compelling production, produced by Melissa Leach and guided with care by Patrick Leach. Strong, deeply felt performances from Franc Gaxiola and Veronica Straight‑Lingo give the evening its emotional shape, and Lanford Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize–winning script provides the sturdy foundation it deserves. The result is a thoughtful, engaging rendering of a play that rewards attention — a presentation that feels both heartfelt and fully realized.

For Information and Tickets: https://www.thethreeleaches.com/events/talleys-folly-by-lanford-wilson-2026-05-27-19-30