“TALLEY’S FOLLY”: Kyla Donnelly of Princeton Junction and John Bathke of Robbinsville star in Lanford Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, at Kelsey Theatre on the campus of Mercer County Community College January 7-16. (Photo by Robert Terrano)

Talley’s Folly, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by American playwright Lanford Wilson, will kick off the new year at Kelsey Theatre on the campus of Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road in West Windsor. Presented by PinnWorth Productions, performances begin Friday, January 7 and run weekends through Sunday, January 16.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for students, seniors, and children.

The romantic comedy, directed, and produced by LouJ Stalsworth along with producer Kate Pinner — both from Allentown, New Jersey — is set in a dilapidated yet dignified Victorian Boathouse in Lebanon, Missouri. It is a timeless tale that takes place on one enchanted moonlit night when middle-aged Matt Friedman has only one chance to win the heart of Sally Talley, a 31-year-old “old maid” from a bigoted Protestant family. After a lifetime of believing they will never truly belong to the world around them, Matt and Sally reawaken one another to love — ultimately finding that they do belong together.

“I love this play,” said Stalsworth. “It’s a love story told in real time with a running time of 97 minutes, something the character Matt Friedman tells the audience as everyone settles in. The year is 1944. Matt is a wandering Jew who has seen the horror of war in Europe. Sally is a fading Southern belle facing life as an old maid. What could possibly go wrong? In a word: everything!”  

Performances are Friday and Saturday, January 7 and 8, 14, and 15 at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, January 9 and 16 at 2 p.m.

Visit kelseytheatre.org for tickets and more information. Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test no older than 48 hours is required, as are masks.