Summer

A storybook fable "Summer" is not. So it's surprising that the whitewashed set of director John Cooper's simple production conveys otherwise. This intimate adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1917 novella iterates the text verbatim, and while these lines are a pleasure to read, they risk falling flat in a theatrical setting. It's Wharton's colorful descriptions that make the reading experience special, and the gravity of her message never quite surfaces in Martin M. Zuckerman's loyal yet semistale interpretation.

Wharton's book explores the life of 17-year-old Charity Royall, a girl-woman raised by Lawyer Royall, her chronically lonely though caring foster father. Charity's real family comes from "the Mountain," where no civilized person from her boring town North Dormer dares go. She harbors big city dreams of neighboring Nettleton, fueled by the impromptu arrival of dashing architect Lucius Harney. She flings herself onto Harney, but like most strange men in small towns, Harney has an air of mystery, and Charity struggles to escape her troubled past.

Christiane Seidel looks the part of young Charity, with her clean-cut early-20th-century garb made complete by a ribbon-tied Sunday bonnet—costumes crisply done by A. Christina Giannini—and Seidel exudes a certain wide-eyed innocence. However, Charity's full depth is never plumbed, and whether that's the adaptation or the actor is hard to tell. Mark Mikulski's Royall is simultaneously frightening and endearing, while as Harney, John P. Keller proves the perfect antidote to Royall's drunken oppressiveness. Pauline Walsh hilariously steals every scene she enters as Royall's maid, Verena.

The second act drags slightly, and the script would have benefited from cutting a few scenes for timing and flow. There is a touching new scene between Charity and Love, her half-sister from the Mountain, that feels a tad sugary, but the emotional moment snags the audience. Kyle Dixon's minimal convertible set functions deftly, and the multiple scene changes rarely interrupt the dramatic flow, aided by Christian DeAngelis' dim, subtle lighting.

As Charity rests under the weeping willow tree, she fantasizes about flying above everything like an eagle. This production doesn't quite soar, but it does valiantly flap its wings. Yet the whole entity never quite leaves the nest.

Presented by Turtle Shell Productions at the Shell Theater, 300 W. 43rd St., NYC. May 6–15. Schedule varies. (212) 352-3101, (866) 811-4111, www.theatremania.com, or www.turtleshellproductions.com.