The Hatmaker’s Wife by Lauren Yee is part folktale, part allegory about who to love and how to love, and a reminder of the high price of loss. It’s a beautiful story with more depth and nuance than the show publicity (sorry, Jewish Repertory Theatre) portrayed when it mentioned talking walls and hats. That “you can’t judge a production by its advertising” sense kept this reviewer’s usual theatre companion away; he may have been pleasantly and profoundly surprised had he joined me.

This story was rich with intention and other meaning, and yes, it kept in my head for days. Director Steve Vaughan picked himself a marvelous cast for this time-tripping study in human nature. Granted, the script has some quirks, but that is the playwright’s wont.

The story opens when a young couple is moving in to a more shabby than chic older home. David Wysocki as Gabe and Renee Hawthorne as “Voice” (yup, there’s a quirk) are taking that next step together. He has second thoughts about the ramshackle condition of their new home, and she counters with “It spoke to me” and perhaps this first time it’s not quite literal. He alludes that the peace of being away from city hustle will be good for her and also pokes at her for having lots of ex-beaus: “I don’t like to be single,” Voice good-naturedly jousts back. But when Gabe leaves everyday for his teaching job and Voice is working from home, the Wall (Charmagne Chi) does indeed speak only to her and drops pages of text for Voice to read, which tell the story of the former dwellers there: Hechtman the hatmaker and his wife.

Voice is captivated by their story of long-time love and his devotion to his favorite hat, and her desire for a child and a hat of her own. The wife, wonderfully portrayed by Pamela Rose Mangus, takes his prized hat one day and searches for the next-best hatmaker to make one for her. Jack Hunter is irascibly charming as Hechtman, so riveted to his television set that he forgets his wife is gone, even when asked by neighbor Meckel (Peter Palmisano) where she is. Meckel is the voice of reason, noticing that Hechtman is getting ‘ripe’ without his wife to keep after him and commenting that Hechtman is getting “floaty” without her presence.

The Hectmans’ story is revealed dropped page by dropped page, and Voice is as mesmerized as Hechman was by TV. She forgets an important event in Gabe’s family and he wonders what impact this new environment is having on her. Wysocki does double duty as the Golem (a mythical and in this case useful being) who is helping Hechtman bring back the things and moments he lost (yet another quirk). I love how jars of all sizes and ilk were used to preserve (more quirk, this time with a metaphor) Hechtman’s memories, with some nicely time audio in Tom Makar’s sound design. Chris Cavanagh’s set was loose with Hechtman’s ratty recliner center stage, surrounded by cast off food boxes and the like, with Gabe and Voice’s unpacked boxes at the perimeter. It’s Hawthorne who is haunting in her role: she’s searching for something that changed her life and if Gabe is doubting her, she’s struggling with her capacities, too: this was my take away and what lingered with me. The fire in her eyes and her manner here were exquisite here as she grappled with the past and present.

If Yee’s ending isn’t as buttoned up as it could have been, it does close an important loop when Meckel, still the helpful and friendly neighbor, hobbles in to meet his new neighbors. It’s a sweet and special moment.

The Hatmaker’s Wife runs just under 90 minutes with no intermission until May 25. Find details and tickets at https://www.jccbuffalo.org/jewish-repertory-theatre/.