Old fashioned in the best sense, Paul Osborn's Morning's at Seven is enjoying a whole hearted, solid revival as the second production in Drury Lane Water Tower's inaugural season. So, what makes this comedy so old fashioned? How about well-written characters, punch lines that don't fall back on irony, and character arcs that follow a traditional pattern; it's the non-musical equivalent of songs that leave you humming as you exit the theatre.

Written and set in a picture perfect 1939, Morning's at Seven stays in the backyards of two neighboring sisters, both married. Soap's Katherine Helmond is the unmarried sister who lives with one couple, and she is the nominal star, though the cast is uniformly convincing. Faces familiar to audience members at Steppenwolf or Famous Door or Goodman include Hanna Dworkin, Mary Ann Thebus, and Roslyn Alexander. Each of the four sisters in the play, their spouses, and the young couple, who set things in motion, are the equivalent of the familiar faced character actors from Hollywood's golden age.

The young couple, Homer and his fiancé of almost 12 years, Myrtle Brown, come for a visit, which sets everyone aflutter. Homer can't bring himself to leave his mom and marry, which means the house built for him will remain empty, which means the sister who needs escape can rent it, but what of the lonely sister who The comic situation allows Osborn to explore the contentious and courageous bonds between his characters, while giving the audience plenty of laughs, as well as some surprisingly bittersweet moments. Osborn has given his characters honest and not always flattering motivations, providing real life characters and conflict. Without the fears of censorship faced by Hollywood, this 1939 script still comes across as modern and undated.

Director Jessica Thebus keeps the action moving (a problem faced by this play in community productions), and has kept the characterizations on a human level (another trap lesser directors and actors can fall into); these are not stereotypes, but can unfortunately be played that way. Jack Magaw's idyllic and sunny backyard set is a Norman Rockwell fantasy, down to the appropriately squeaky hinged screen doors.

With this and the recent production of "The Full Monty", high standards have been set by the Drury Lane Water Tower Place. Both are audience pleasers that don't skimp on production values, and set out to capture the finest talent the city has on offer. The musical version of Grand Hotel will premiere at the theatre this fall, and I am looking forward to it.

Morning's at Seven plays at Drury Lane Water Tower Place through August 28. Discount parking and dining packages are available.