Playwrights, novelists and other creative types observe the world differently.

Looking at elephants shifting in the confined space of an old-fashioned zoo or being prodded to perform in a circus, most folks feel anything from fascination to outrage.

Playwright Terry Lawrence, on the other hand, looked at the story of two elephants named Wanda and Winky and wondered, ``What would they would say if we could understand them?''

Lawrence's conclusions -- moving, amusing, full of imagery -- are on display in her lovely new play Speaking Elephant. Now getting its world premiere at the Women's Theatre Project in Fort Lauderdale, the South Florida-based playwright's script has inspired one of the company's best productions, from the simple and subtle work of director Genie Croft to the effective, engrossing performances by three of the region's best actors.

The inspiration for Speaking Elephant came from the story of Wanda and Winky, two female Asian elephants who had been companions at the Detroit Zoo since 1994.

In 2004, the zoo became the eighth in the country to announce the closure of its elephant exhibit for ethical reasons. And by the spring of 2005, Wanda and Winky were relocated to a California animal sanctuary.

Of the many ways to come at the story, Lawrence chose to imagine the elephants' histories, thoughts and relationships. That proves an inspired choice, particularly with Sally Bondi as the optimistically curious Wanda and Angie Radosh playing a sometimes-acerbic Winky (if tart-tongued Joanne from Company were an elephant, she'd be Winky).

Dressed in Ashley Rigg's imaginative elephant costumes, moving slowly over the small square representing their cement-floor ``home'' at the frigid Detroit Zoo, the two reminisce, Wanda eagerly and often, Winky reluctantly and sparingly. The sociable Wanda begs Winky to share stories, and when her elder companion mostly declines, she makes do by borrowing snippets from other elephants' lives or offering up her own observations.

``That's a complaint, not a story,'' Winky snorts.

``Then maybe you should tell it,'' retorts the ever-smiling Wanda.

Speaking Elephant is full of moments of bubbling humor and palpable loss. When Winky does begin to speak of her history -- years in the circus, being ``corrected'' with an ankus (a rod with a metal hook on the end), the loss of her beloved mother -- the tonally perfect Radosh becomes utterly heartbreaking.

As the elephants' solicitous attendant, a passionate Pilar Uribe plays a tender-hearted geek who finds her challenging dealings with ``the girls'' nonetheless easier than building a relationship with the male of her own species.

Try as she might, she cannot understand the elephants' low rumblings. But thanks to Lawrence's imaginative empathy, everyone else who listens is given the gift of Speaking Elephant.

Christine Dolen is The Miami Herald's theater critic.

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