Saturn Returns, a play by Noah Haidle. Lincoln Center Theater at the Mitzi E. Newhouse. Starring Rosie Benton, Robert Eli, John McMartin and James Rebhorn, directed by Nicholas Martin. "Saturn Returns" marked our first play in months after a long hiatus working as an unpaid volunteer in the Obama campaign. We picked a winner in both instances. "Saturn Returns" is a marvelous play, reminiscent in many ways of "Our Town" in its seeming down home simplicity that belies its cosmic truth. That the music often heard is Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony #6 is only fitting for this achingly beautiful, melancholy play which unwinds in a lean 75 minutes that seems both an eternity and all too fleeting - like life itself. The direction by Nicholas Martin is pitch perfect and the four actors - three men playing the same character at different stages of life and one woman playing three different characters in those stages - are brilliant. We both loved the work of the lovely Rosie Benton whose voice and well- centered acting reminded us of the young Kate Winslet. John McMartin is a sovereign presence as the older Gustin and James Rebhorn is equally fine as his middle aged self. Robert Eli gives an exceptional performance, tinged with an unconscious wistfulness as the young Gustin - it is he who sets it all in motion. "Saturn Returns" is still in previews, but I can't imagine them changing one word or gesture - it's perfection and is exactly the kind of theater experience that makes any commute (and this was a nasty day) worthwhile. Broadway Bridge and Tunnel Test Grade A+