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The Commercial Appeal Commercial Appeal, The (Memphis, TN) June 15, 2002 PLAY IS LIKE PERFECT PHOTO ALBUM OF ITALIAN GRANDPARENTS Author: Christopher Blank Edition: Final Estimated printed pages: 3 Article Text: In only the second week of the show, some people are already on their third set of tickets for "Over the River and Through the Woods", now playing at Circuit Playhouse. At least, that's what the fellow in the box office said before Thursday night's nearly sold out performance. It smacks of hype until you're crying your eyes out. Better make a reservation; this show's gonna be packed. Maybe it's because folks relate to this absorbing comedy about family. More specifically, about grandparents. Italian grandparents. They feed you. They air your dirty laundry to your girlfriends and then ask "when are you getting married?" They nag and annoy you. But mostly, they love you and want to suffocate you. Tengo famiglia. I have a family. It's the slogan that haunts Nick Cristano, a guy who spends every Sunday with his four boisterous elders in Hoboken, N.J. Though they can't exactly figure out what he does for a l! iving (he's in marketing), they know that his new promotion is bad news. He'll have to move to Seattle. Nick sees a chance to get ahead in the world. But his grandparents, all in their 70s and 80s, see it as trying to escape from the tight-knit family. Can they convince/manipulate/guilt him to stay? Playwright Joe DiPietro knows his stuff, but most of all, he knows our stuff. Anyone with relatives will recognize their own family in this marvelously illuminating show, complete with not-in-front-of-the-girlfriend dinner table talk, too-old-to-drive humor and just-can't-get-through-to-them jokes. Aie-yi-yi! Locals may remember DiPietro's hit musical I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change which, as the title suggested, examined how people search for love while expecting others to conform to their own ideals. The nonmusical Over the River is also about a kind of conformity - one to family values passed down from generation to generation. The production is! cast like a perfect photo album; the ensemble gives the characters sp arkling, believable lives. Maternal grandfather Frank, played by Herman Markell, is an Italian immigrant, sent to America by his father at age 14. Markell's tender, soft-spoken portrait is the ideal match for his nurturing wife, Aida, the grandmother whose first words are always: "You look hungry." Dorothy Blackwood is a treasure in the role. Nick's paternal grandparents Nunzio and Emma - "the loudest people I ever met" - are the gifted actors Marler Stone and Janie Paris playing clear cut examples of the never-too-old types. Like true married couples, both sets of actors have integrated parts of each other, making them seem inseparable. The object of their devotion is actor John Maness, last seen in the title role of Playhouse on the Square's Amadeus. He is excellent in the part, balancing the kind of great love with the great frustration of knowing his relatives too well. A classic exchange comes after the grandparents insist on playing the game Tri! vial Pursuit. Frank reads the question, "Who starred with Grace Kelly in High Noon?" The elders agree: "The one with the ears." FRANK: That's right. Go again. NICK: Wait, stop! That's the answer on the card? The one with the ears? FRANK: No, but I know who they mean! The ensuing argument nearly brings on another panic attack for Nick, who moves in with his grandparents in the second act. But their time together eventually turns into a time of reflection on the meaning of "I have a family." In one of the play's funniest moments, the grandparents bring a single girl (played by Rebecca DeVries) home to dinner. The dialog, peppered with Nick's objections, is as hilarious as it is predictable. Director John O' Connell, a theater professor at Arkansas State University, manages a dynamic but seemingly effortless staging. The occasional sight gags are subtle surprises, eliciting laughs without losing track of the play's inevitably bittersweet tone. A heartfelt and immensely memorable play, Over the River is t his season's family favorite. "Over the River and Through the Woods" continues through July 14 at Circuit Playhouse. Call 726-4656. - Christopher Blank: 529-2305 Memo: Copyright (c) 2002 The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN
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