Review: People’s Light offers a polished, lighthearted revival of ‘The Vinegar Tree’

People’s Light’s 2018 revival of Paul Osborn’s Morning’s at Seven inspired the Wall Street Journal’s then-theater critic, Terry Teachout, to proclaim it “one of the finest productions of an American play I’ve ever reviewed.”

Now that I’ve seen a different Osborn revival at People’s Light, the 1930 comedy The Vinegar Tree, I have an inkling of what he meant. The two productions have in common two cast members, and most of their designers. But the key to their shared excellence is surely the brisk, subtle, stylish direction of Abigail Adams.

The Vinegar Tree recalls the farces of Oscar Wilde and earlier comedies of manners and seems to anticipate the screwball film comedies of the 1930s. Osborn, best known for his film adaptations of East of Eden and South Pacific, satirizes the sexually frank Jazz Age, but also tackles universal dilemmas: the bafflements of love, the risks of self-delusion, and the ravages of time.

With a first-rate ensemble, Adams’ staging of The Vinegar Tree brilliantly balances the play’s comic elements and its undertow of sadness, making this unfamiliar, more than 90-year-old work seem surprisingly modern.

The action, which consumes just over two hours (including intermission), begins with a romantic situation whose complications quickly multiply. Two lovers have arranged a rendezvous at a remote country house. Max (Christopher Kelly) is a handsome unmarried artist of some renown; thrice-married Winifred (Julianna Zinkel) is bored with her current spouse, ready for sexual adventure, and indiscreet. “That’s the trouble with you women who have amiable husbands,” Max complains. “You never have any skill in deception.”

The home where they meet belongs to Winifred’s sister, Laura Merrick (Teri Lamm), and Laura’s much older husband, the grumpy Augustus (David Ingram, in a deliberately dour performance). The period living room and terrace set is designed by Daniel Zimmerman and lit by Dennis Parichy, with costume designer Marla J. Jurglanis supplying the requisite elegance.

Winifred unaccountably hasn’t seen Laura for 15 years; she also was once enamored of Augustus, one of the play’s many red herrings. Max, for his part, once knew Laura, though just how well is a mystery.

Laura, who can’t tell a Holstein from a Holbein, comes to believe that Max has returned to spirit her away from an unsatisfactory marriage. Lamm, evoking Carol Burnett and her comic heirs, is impeccable in the role.

Meanwhile, the Merricks’ lovely daughter, Leone (Claire Inie-Richards), returns from college in despair over her persistent virginity. Her intermittently besotted boyfriend Geoffry (Aubie Merrylees) also shows up, despite his reluctance to propose to a woman so lacking in experience.

To add to the fun, Max has no such hesitation, a development guaranteed to infuriate both Winifred and Laura.

Part of the idiosyncratic charm of The Vinegar Tree, and of this production, is that its farcical elements don’t entirely overshadow the playwright’s more serious concerns. The performances, while stylized, are never outlandish.

And the characters, while they may have ridiculous notions, are likable, often sincere, and ultimately willing to reconsider their follies. Everything ends, however improbably, just as it should, with a wonderful sly twist that is both amply foreshadowed and unpredictable.

Presented by People’s Light on the Steinbright Stage, 39 Conestoga Rd., Malvern, through July 24. Masks required; some performances have distanced seating. Tickets: $40-$45, with various discounts available. Information: 610-644-3500 or peopleslight.org.