So much theater– so little time! Here’s a round up beginning with the best of what’s onstage right now!

Talley's FollyTALLEY’S FOLLY at Merrimack Repertory Theatre is terrific. This 1980 Pulitzer Prize-winning play set on July 4, 1944 by Lanford Wilson about two lonely souls navigating a potentially romantic relationship finds a lovely home at the historic Lowell theater. Talley’s Folly is set on the shores of an old boathouse aptly set in Lebanon, Missouri– the collision of two worlds; it is here that Matt Friedman, a Jewish immigrant from war-torn Europe, has made his way in order to court Sally Talley, daughter of a conservative midwestern American town’s first family.  It’s a match not made in heaven– but Matt pursues her with the fervor of a fanatic, and Sally parries his formidable intentions with equally formidable indecision. As Matt tells Sally– you can say no and leave, or you can put on a pretty dress and stay- but you can’t put on a pretty dress and say no. He “gets” her– and she may just want to be gotten.

As their literal and emotional worlds collide– and make no mistake this encounter has universal resonance– their courtship is nuanced, funny, and explosive, as they cook up considerable chemistry. Benim Foster as Matt drives her just crazy enough; he’s maddeningly intense, funny, charismatic–a perfect foil for Kathleen Wise’s fragile, feisty Sally. They calibrate the tricky rhythms of this momentous encounter over 97 perfect minutes.  SEE “TALLEY’S FOLLY”  at Merrimack Rep through 4/13!

LOVERS’ QUARRELS by Imaginary Beasts is a rarely performed Moliere farce. I am not one for farce, especially when farce is forced. Forcing a farce robs a farce of its force, and then a farce is no longer a force; it’s just a farce. This is a Lovers Quarrelsrudimentary error too frequently made when directing such rollicking proceedings. This production is jam-packed with barefoot, masked actors somersaulting and screaming their way through Act I in a breathless, non-stop frenzy. This thing needs to slow down and get into shape: pick its moments, calculate the timing, and set up the punch lines so they have somewhere to land– or even erupt naturally in this overgrown jungle. Here, every line is a punchline and I felt positively pummeled. Act II is MUCH better for having weeded out the excessive stage business.

Underneath the mayhem of cavorting couples is a hip and hyper-clear translation by Richard Wilbur, deftly handled by some pretty facile actors– the best among them: Lynn R. Guerra as Ascagne, a woman disguised as a man; she has all the verve and spark of a young Katharine Hepburn–even looks a little like her. And Cameron Cronin as Mascarille is confident and just plain funny without trying. Tip for the design team: remove or cover the bar codes on all those plastic balls being tossed around the stage.  LOVERS’ QUARRELS  runs through April 19th at the Plaza Black Box Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts.

RICH GIRL presented by The Lyric Stage Company is a New England premiere of a work based on Henry James’s novel “Washington Square,” which inspired a play and a movie called THE HEIRESS, one of my all time favorite films.  RICH GIRL by Victoria Stewart is the latest gloss on the material and M Amelia with Sasha, Joe4feels like a parlor trick, something for quick amusement, with a surprise ending. We are left to wonder whether or not Claudine (Sasha Castroverde), a young, very wealthy rich girl is being duped by handsome Henry (Joe Short) from high school who has resurfaced as a starving artist in need of wealthy patrons, when he suddenly takes a shine to Claudine. The premise sits less comfortably now than it did when Olivia de Havilland (who won her second Oscar for the part) played the plain but wealthy 19th century heiress of Washington Square, when a woman’s destiny was much more tied to a man.

Here, we’re to understand that Claudine’s self esteem has been damaged by her brittle mother Eve (Amelia Broome), a vain celebrity financial guru, whose own painful past has made her evaluate every emotional relationship like a business transaction. Everything that happens in this world feels like a cheap ploy, including the second act appearance of a fatal disease. The characters barely register as real, and Joe Short’s performance is infinitely less dimensional than Montgomery Clift’s nuanced turn as an ardent young man suddenly in love. The clumsy staging of the climactic scene makes Henry appear particularly callow.

And why is it made to seem as though Claudine’s only choices are selling out or selling herself short? A modern attractive rich girl has many more options than a 19th century heiress, though no one here apparently thinks so. (At least lonely Olivia de Havilland ultimately stakes a claim for some self respect; the movie’s last scene haunts me still.) There are some good performances though, especially that of Celeste Oliva who crackles as Eve’s super-efficient assistant Maggie; but your time would be MUCH better spent renting THE HEIRESS, a superbly directed, acted, and intensely emotional film. It’s poor distant cousin RICH GIRL plays at the Lyric Stage through April 26.