Neil Simon's 'Chapter Two': Themes for our time, and any time

I'm tempted to ask why Montgomery Theater chose to stage Neil Simon's Chapter Two now. The world roils with questions of momentous import: Brexit, immigration, religious fundamentalism, terrorism, the election, and the fate of this country. Plays on Philadelphia stages this season, such as Hillary and Clinton, The Invisible Hand, and The Christians have dealt directly with these topics.

So you might wonder what Simon's 1977 dramatic comedy has to say to us. And the Montgomery Theater's current production shows us that it has much to say to our time and any time.

In New York, a novelist (Matt Tallman as George) reels from the sudden death of his wife of 12 years. A few months later, his press agent brother Leo (Adam Danoff) tries to pair him off with a succession of women, including Jennie (Anna Marie Sell), an actress and recent divorcée.

Despite their initial hesitancy and a freight car's worth of personal baggage, George and Jennie's romance ignites like a wildfire, causing concern and jealousy in Leo and Jennie's best friend Faye (Jess Kochu).

The script teems with one-liners and wry observations ("Next to Christmas, loneliness is the biggest business in America"). Simon mined his own experiences with moving on: His first wife, Joan Baim, died young and suddenly, and his second wife, Marsha Mason, helped him cope.

Tom Quinn's direction finds the emotional depth buried by the humor, and from his cast he builds portraits of vulnerability gilded with hope. Felix Pinschey and Eric Verhasselt's set features side-by-side apartments, and Quinn exploits this nicely to create quirky but apt moments of intimacy. The short scenes of Simon's play glide by like a sitcom, with Tallman's resentful and reluctant widower an unlikely romantic protagonist.

As Jennie, Sell delivers one of the finest, most emotionally rich performances I've seen this season. Whether Simon wrote her as a tribute to Mason or to a golden retriever, she stands, feet anchored, unmovable, constant, and unrelenting in her devotion. Whatever abuse or unwillingness George hurls at her, she lets fall to the wayside, with few tears and renewed pleas for commitment.

And why shouldn't she? She is at mid-life, and time blows by like the gusts of a hurricane, passion dwindles, and second chances are infrequent and too often cruel or bittersweet at best.

Only Mary Ann Swords-Greene's costumes and the scant references to Merv Griffin and Fresca soda date this piece. Among its timeless themes is the fragility of affection, passion, and human life, and it challenges us to confront questions that will plague us long after contemporary political and social unrest has consumed its own embers.

Chapter Two. Through July 10 at the Montgomery Theater, 124 Main St., Souderton. Tickets: $26-$35. Information: 215-723-9984 or montgomerytheater.org