Foote's take on small-town life sparkles at Goodman

There's nothing flashy about "Talking Pictures," Horton Foote's graceful portrait of small-town life on the eve of the Depression.

A genteel, bittersweet play about loss and change, acceptance and persistence, it unfolds leisurely in the fictionalized town of Harrison, Texas, where the arrival of the "talkies" signals the personal and economic upheaval in store for the residents of a modest rooming house.

There's nothing flashy about Henry Wishcamper's wistful production, which inaugurates Goodman Theatre's three-month salute to the playwright. Wishcamper's intimate, delicately acted production -- staged in the round, a first for Goodman -- gives the play the deference it deserves.

PLAY REVIEW "Talking Pictures" 3 stars out of four3 stars out of fourLocation: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., ChicagoTimes: 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays through March 2 Running time: About two hours and 20 minutes, with intermissionParking:Paid lots nearbyTickets: $10-$38Box office: (312) 443-3800 or www.goodmantheatre.org Rating: For most audiences Video 'Talking Pictures'

There's more to the subtle "Talking Pictures" than meets the eye. A great sense of humanity underscores this play, whose principle characters remain decent and mannerly even under the most trying circumstances. And of course, the real-life dramas these characters experience -- fractured families, unemployment, broken dreams -- far surpass those projected at the nearby movie palace.

That's especially true of Myra (a hushed, expressive performance by Jenny McKnight), a weary but undefeated woman who hides her hurt behind a half smile. A divorced mother raising her 14-year-old son Pete (the conflicted Bubba Weiler, every inch the sullen teen), Myra is a pianist whose job providing accompaniment to silent films will become obsolete once the local movie house switches to talkies. Besides losing her job, she is also about to lose her son, who has been invited by his father (Dan Waller), a selfish man and a bit of a bully, to live with him and his new family in Houston.

Offering comfort and more is the hard-working Willis (the flawless Philip Earl Johnson), who, like Myra, rents a room from Mr. Jackson (Jason Wells), a railroad engineer about to be transferred, and his wife (Judy Blue), a dyed-in-the-wool Methodist more open-minded than she seems. Rounding out the cast is Lee Stark, charming as the Jacksons' inquisitive and intuitive younger daughter; Kathleen Romond as her prudish older sister; Gabriel Notarangelo as Estaquio, the son of a Mexican preacher; Audrey Francis, who nearly steals the show as the spitfire Gladys, Willis' soon-to-be-ex wife and E. Vincent Teninty as Ashenback, Gladys' abandoned lover.