Noah Haidle's best known plays, like Mr. Marmalade and Rag and Bone, are absurd black comedies. Conversely, his newest work, Saturn Returns, currently at the Lincoln Center's Mitzi Newhouse Theatre, is an uncharacteristically wistful and mostly straightforward memory play. Although both too slight and overlong at just 70 minutes, it's a gently touching work, which Nicholas Martin's first-rate production showcase to fine advantage.

The play, which depicts an unnamed man at three distinct stages in his life, isn't entirely without the kind of high-concept twist that distinguishes Haidle's work. The man is played by three different actors -- at 88 by John McMartin, at 58 by James Rebhorn, a[...]