Comedy centers on family relationships
The cast for “Over the River and Through the Woods” includes Mona Charles, Matt Strool, Patty Thiel, Scott Plotkin, Jessica Moore and Giuseppe Caltabiano. (Photo courtesy of WTC)
A hilarious family comedy, Whitefish Theatre Company presents “Over the River and Through the Woods” as the first mainstage theatre production of their 2019-2020 season.
Written by award-winning playwright Joe DiPietro, the play runs at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish on Oct. 18, 19, 24, 25 and 26 at 7:30 p.m. and on Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. A sneak preview performance will be held on Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
The plays lets us meet Nick, a young single man who has managed to be the only member of his family who still lives near his two sets of Italian-American grandparents in suburban New Jersey. He sees them every Sunday for dinner, a night that is governed by the three “Fs” — family, faith and food. However, when Nick tells his family that he is moving to Seattle for his dream job, the wily elders decide to launch a barrage of emotional blackmail to keep Nick around, including a cooked-up matchmaking scheme with the lovely Caitlin. Will the prospect of true love keep Nick from moving across the country? Find out in this warm-hearted, boisterously funny, and touching story about deep familial love and the inevitable little heartbreaks that occur as time passes and children grow.
The Whitefish Theatre Co. is thrilled to have David Ackroyd as the director of this memorable production. His experience as both a Broadway actor and off-Broadway director bring tremendous skill and virtuosity to WTC’s local stage.
“Joe DiPietro’s musical ‘I Love you, You’re Perfect, Now Change’ marked my first professional collaboration with Betsi Morrison, Luke Walrath and Whitefish Theatre Company 15 years ago and led directly to the founding of Alpine Theatre Project,” says Ackroyd. “I was struck then by DiPietro’s ability to write sharp, smart, sometimes hilarious comedy that dealt with romantic love in various stages of relationships.”
Ackroyd says the play “Over the River and Through the Woods” is about “family, in particular an Italian-American family, whose passion for tengo famiglia — which translates very roughly as “family above everything else” — can seem overbearing to a younger generation.”
“And it’s set in a world I grew up in — suburban New Jersey,” he said. “Many of my schoolmates came from that same hard-working, blue collar, immigrant background as the characters in this play. If I had a nickel for every raviolo I ate when I was a kid, I’d own a beach house on the Amalfi coast.”
The production features Matt Strool as Nick, Scott Plotkin as Frank, Mona Charles as Aida, Giuseppe Caltabiano as Nunzio, Patty Thiel as Emma, and Jessica Moore as Caitlin.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, and $10 for students with reserved seating. Tickets for the sneak preview on Oct. 17 are $12 for adults and $10 for students with general seating and can only be purchased at the door. Tickets can be purchased at the Box Office, 1 Central Ave., Whitefish, or by calling 862-5371. Box office hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour before performance times. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.whitefishtheatreco.org. This show is sponsored by the John and Judy Melin.