The Young Man From Atlanta

The title character never appears onstage, but he fully insinuates himself in the lives of Will and Lily Dale Kidder. So, too, does deceit and self-delusion. Money is tight, health is precarious, and the couple's adult son has, although not a swimmer, walked into a lake and drowned. What do we presume happened, and what are his parents telling themselves and each other?

Although the play takes place in 1950, Horton Foote wrote it in the mid-1990s. Yes, he revived characters from his earlier works, but why hearken back so far for these themes? It could be the way modern audiences prefer to learn from our mistakes. This couple's blatant issues have probably bobbed along on choppy waters for years. Though her son is dead, she calls her husband "Daddy." He doesn't readily communicate with her about his medical and financial woes. Hanging over all is their son's motivation.

August Viverito directs with gentleness, steeping the story in a guilelessness that makes the couple's life seem all the sadder. As those aptly named Kidders, however, Dick DeCoit and Eileen Barnett are up against huge challenges. Though his Will doesn't particularly wrench at our souls, DeCoit creates remarkably convincing moments as a businessman on the brink of decline yet poised to face reality.

Lily Dale here reflects a personality so annoying, Barnett has a tough slog to ratchet up our compassion. Nicole J. Butler as the maid seems to show more disdain for her employers than would have been tolerated in a 1950s Texas suburban home. As Lily's stepfather, Hap Lawrence veers into cartoonishness, but the actor listens and reacts naturally. Also listening well, David Robert May as papa's great-nephew remains immersed in the play, his character perhaps the only one on stage who recognizes the dysfunction and lets us know we're not alone in seeing it.

Presented by The Production Company at the Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave., Hollywood. Mar. 11–Indefinite. Fri.–Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. (Dark Sun., 3 p.m. Mar. 13.) (323) 871-1150. www.theprodco.com.