Starkville Community Theatre kicked off its 25th anniversary season Thursday with the somewhat slow-building but ultimately stirring and poignant “Over the River and Through the Woods” by Joe di Pietro. Directed by long-time Theatre MSU and SCT guru Dominic Cunetto and sporting a cast comprised mostly of MSU and SCT regulars, “River” takes its audience on a roller coaster of, as the poster advertises, “Love, Laughter and Lasagna,” which first draws chuckles and sighs and finally understanding and acceptance of the chalk line that commonly divides a family from itself.
Walking this blurred boundary is Nick (Thomas La Foe), grandson of the Gianelli and Cristano families of Hoboken, N.J. Nick, a marketing executive, is, at curtain, faced with the prospect of informing his family-minded relatives of a job offer that would take him to Seattle and out of their reach.
Nick’s tightly-woven grandparents, who have watched his parents and sister also move to other lives, are shocked and dismayed at his proposed move, and the measure they take to secure his continued presence is both hilarious and heart-warming.
Di Pietro’s reasonably new play skips the audience through a collection of snapshots of Nick’s memories as he and his grandparents relate endearing and entertaining anecdotes dealing with, well, “L, L and L.” The scenic nature of the text allows di Pietro to one-two punch his crowd with giggles and snuffles; he pushes to the emotional limit then efficiently pulls back with a one-liner or cheery jab towards a stereotype.
That di Pietro packets such pleasant puns as “We’re old; we’re chilly” and “We’re not loud; we’re passionate!” throughout his piece and gives it a feeling of not only playful humor but true insight into those he portrays.
He redefines the idea of a show for the whole family by making it a show of the whole family, of mine and yours, of the enduring love and inevitable loss that make a family complete.
Although the script is memorable and deeply moving, it is La Foe’s portrayal of Nick that provides the hinge which makes the show’s two hours gradually work their magic. Nick’s treatment of his grandparents early on, and the lesson he learns about them and himself at close, equally angers then touches us. We are asked to love him and hate him, and although the development is slow-moving, La Foe (SCTs “Bus Stop”) handles both admirably, especially in his first leading role. It was La Foe’s like-ability and natural ease onstage that eventually won me over. Without his capable banter and, for lack of a better word, engaging temper, I would have been left adrift in a sea of conflicting emotions and confusing stereotypes. To complete the metaphor through, La Foe navigates us effortlessly and effectively.
La Foe may stand out individually, but it is the combined effort of his family that polishes the family play to a shine. Kathi Hester (numerous SCT productions) as Nick’s grandmother Emma is notable in the support -she is very good and tackles a difficult age with pleasure and conviction-but each filled his or her role well. Gabe Smith (also of “Bus Stop”), as Emma’s boisterous husband Nunzio, suffered as the only Italian not to attempt an accent but recovered by final curtain to create one of the most emotionally-charged and endearing characters on stage.
Also, Cunetto’s pairing of SCT veteran Madeline Golden (“Bus Stop,” for one) and newcomer Robert Woodward as Nick’s slightly-less-involved antecedents Aida and Frank resulted in a charmed interaction to match the innocent allure of the entire play. Finally, SCT’s other new face, Amanda Lopez, gives her role as Nick’s unexpected love interest, Caitlin, a refreshing sense of normality and everyday life as well as an unbiased eye to Nick’s transgressions to counter the collection of stereotypes that surrounds her.
Although the play suffered early on from problems with age (difficult with a reasonably young cast and a small space, but still a problem) and accent (where Smith didn’t try, others broke down), it gained steam as La Foe and company wove loops tightly around their audience’s collective heart.
Eventually, so entangled in the cheerful mess that is the Gianelli’s and Cristano’s affairs, we give up and are swept away in a deluge of laughter and tears whose end result is a long applause and longer phone calls home.
Like most SCT’shows, tickets for “Over the River and Through the Woods” are in extremely limited and rapidly-decreasing supply. To make reservations, call 323-6855 and hope.
The show starts at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m.