It is unfortunate that Teresa Wright chose Salt of the Earth for her return to the stage after a long absence. For, despite the competent efforts of Miss Wright and the rest of the cast, this new Mary Drayton comedy (based on Ardyth Kennelly's novel, "The Peacable Kingdom") is both lifeless and unfunny.

In the second and third acts the comedy element is completely submerged in melodrama, apparently to the delight of the feminine members of the audiences. It seems as if the playwright is not quite sure of what she wants to accomplish. The spoofing of polygamy in the first act is somehow incongruous with her moral examination of the effects of polygamy in the parties involved. What results is soap opera transferred to the stage.

Kent Smith, as the husband with too many wives, appears uncomfortable mouthing such lines as "Don't make me choose between you and the Church." Otherwise he performs patiently. Judith Parrish is cast in the stereotyped role of the two-faced coquette who manages to mix business with pleastre.

Alfred Drake's direction is expert wherever the script allows, and the period set of a combination kitchen-parlor-bedroom by Sam Leve is authentic as well as colorful.