The Town Players of Newtown current production of Lanford Wilson’s Fifth of July transports audiences back a few decades, to the post Vietnam war era. Despite the time frame, audiences will find the circumstances and situations involving the lives of the Talley family to be utterly timeless and completely relatable.

Under the guidance of Maureen Trotto this talented cast brings their best game. The skilled, insightful and brilliant direction creates a completely natural human interaction as a tightly knit group of family and friends who cling to and then repel each other while the story unfolds.

Kenneth Talley, Jr, played by Miles Everett, is at the center of the family dynamic. He has returned home with injuries sustained during his tour in Vietnam, which have left him both physically and emotionally disabled. He lives with his younger, horticulturally expert lover, Jed Jenkins (Matthew Saul).

Theirs is a quiet existence in which much time is spent apart, with Ken seeking inner peace with his new normal through escapism while Jed patiently cares for and about him as he symbolically tends his garden in order to solidify their residence in the old Talley family home. By planting seedlings which take decades to mature, Jed creates an environment with a future.

The couple is joined over the Independence Day holiday by Ken’s sister, June Talley (Donna L. White), and her 13-year old daughter Shirley (April Lichtman). They have come to support Aunt Sally Talley Friedman (Nancy Thode) for the occasion of speading the ashes of her deceased husband on a local river bend.

Sally is reticent to share her beloved’s remains with the filthy swamp and hangs on to them in a Whitman’s candy box until she can devise a more fitting location, which she does, and it is a tear jerker.

Joining the family for the weekend are Gwen and John Landis, played by Sheila Hageman and Christopher Cooney respectively. Ken and June have a history with this couple dating back to the “chose love not war” heyday of promiscuity and rampant drug use which characterized the time and gives them a constant source of nostalgia. There is a murkiness to the exact nature of their interactions, but their bonds remain tight and forgiving.

Gwen and John are accompanied by Weston Hurley (Timothy Huebenthal), a composer/lyricist of sorts who offers up anecdotal stories to elaborate on circumstances, as he alone sees them. This group has arrived to pursue purchase of the old Talley homestead, in order to convert it to a music studio for Gwen’s fledgling singing career. There is much secrecy to the negotiations and the banter vacillates from warm and collaborative to fierce and adamant.

Enough cannot be said about this cast and each actor’s ability to bring warmth, determination, deceit and humor to this most primal of plays. The Talley Family Saga is one of basic human relationships dramatized to perfection.

Miles Everett is careful and dry as he hides and denies Ken’s fear of acclimating and moving forward with his life. Everett capably lets his vulnerability peek out from under his armor. Playing Ken’s partner, Matthew Saul’s Jed is quiet, soulful and obviously devoted to Ken and the life he fervently hopes they will permanently share.

Ken’s sister has fully turned the corner on her past life as rebel playing fast and loose with her body and soul. As June, Donna L. White imbues her character with a steely determination demanded by her responsibilities, and yet her love for her daughter and family are evident. April Lichtman is pitch perfect as the sassy, self centered teenage daughter who envisions herself as the Talley family savior.

Nancy Thode is warm, funny and brave as the widow of one year. Her delivery is well timed and appropriately sad and wise.

The musical trio of Gwen, John and Wes are sneaky, energetic and self serving, yet somehow manage to be caring and kind, in their way. Sheila Hageman, as Gwen, is a bundle of nerves, neurosis and money. This actor is expressive and emotional in a performance that is fully committed to her character.

Christopher Cooney is always fun to watch, and he is here as well, as he engages in some kind of secrecy which he aptly hides from Gwen.

Timothy Heubenthals’s Wes is a totally lovable hack with perfect comic timing and a dear disposition.

Duane Langenwalter’s set is something to behold in the small space that is The Little Theatre. He miraculously designed and produced the home which anchors this family. His design and use of color provide an authentic environment to surround them.

The intricacy of family dynamics is fully on display in this piece. Like pinballs, they move together then apart, yet never loose sight of home. Blood is thicker than water and history counts for something. Lanford Wilson’s Talley family plays shed light on these most intimate, influential and profound of relationships. It is an evening at the theater that will make for laughs, tears and a resonant appreciation for home.

(The season opener for Town Players of Newtown’s 80th anniversary season, performance of Fifth of July continue weekends until May 16.

Curtain is 8 pm Fridays and Saturdays, and tickets are $22 for adults, $10 for children ages 10 and under. Reservations can be made by calling 203-270-9144 or visiting NewtownPlayers.org.

Performances are at The Little Theatre, 18 Orchard Hill Road.)