Murphys Creek delivers a love note

I will say the play is 97 minutes long; but that's because Graham Scott Green, as Matt Friedman, informs the audience of the running time in an opening monologue. This opener also is a bit unusual for "regular" theatre; generally only melodramas allow the actors to speak directly to the audience. But Friedman uses his opener to inform us of his plan to woo Sally Talley during our 97 minutes together.

Green is charming as he paces about the elaborately landscaped set, and it's especially funny when he recounts most of his speech in fast-motion, for the late arrivals, he says. The amphitheater at Stevenot Winery is bedecked with a babbling brook, reeds and pussy willows and a small pier out over the water. It is truly a beautiful space that Mike Clarke created.

All of that space is used as the "play" begins. Friedman - a nervous kind of guy from the city - has arrived in the rural locale to visit Talley. The thing is, he hasn't seen her since an ill-fated encounter at Talley's hospital workplace last year. To suggest he's been obsessing over the past 12 months is almost an understatement.

In his opening discussion, Friedman tells us the tale is a waltz, and he's not kidding. Talley - played effortlessly by Jacqueline Hillsman - rushes onstage to chase her suitor away before her backward family realizes he's there. He tries on a pair of ice skates and injures himself, all while she's worrying about the arrival of a relative. From this point, the entire play feels like we're secretly listening to a conversation between two lonely people. It's not like we're butting in, but more like they have accepted us as part of the scenery.

She's had a tragic life and his has been spent at an accounting firm (how's that for excitement!). She's afraid of another disastrous liaison with a man, and he wants a chance at love's eternal bliss. It's an interesting quandary, but the writer, Lanford Wilson, keeps the pace (and the overall mood) relatively sullen. It isn't until the end that the pair really begins to get to what's going through their heads. (I couldn't help but fear for the couple if they were to actually wed; their inability to communicate smoothly was a little annoying at first, then I realized that's just how these people are.)

I'm perhaps overstating the dreariness of all this, especially considering the warmly lit stage. When I considered Talley works as a nurse at an army hospital and this evening takes place in 1944, I realized the world is heavy for she and her beau. I suppose the characters are feeling as though they're bearing the weight of that world on their lovelorn shoulders. As we learn why Talley is so standoffish, we come to feel for her and happily we come to root for Friedman.

Both actors are perfect in their roles. Green is confident as the nearly nerdy bean counter and Hillsman conveys emotion with the slightest changes in her voice. And therein lies the beauty of this production; it's all about the conversation. Director Maryanne Curmi - no stranger to Mother Lode stages herself - allows the actors to use every inch of the wonderful set as they laugh, implore and argue with each other.

Grab a bottle of wine, some cheese and bread, a blanket and your lover and take one last look at Theatre Under the Stars for another year. Murphys Creek Theatre continues to present fine productions in an enchanted setting. And it'll only cost you 97 minutes.