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Stage 3's
'Over the River' not to be missed
[webmaster note: Everybody's
favorite Rotarian, Doug Scott, President of the Rotary Club of Arnold,
is appearing in a play in Sonora. Here is the review from the Modesto
Bee.]
SONORA -- Face it. Few plays
genuinely make you both laugh and cry. That's just a cliché that
directors print on publicity posters to sell tickets.
But Stage 3 Theatre achieves
this rare feat with its new show, "Over the River and Through the
Woods."
This gem has realistic,
hilarious and poignant dialogue, true-to-life characters and a story
that will stick in your mind for days. It's easily one of the top five
plays of the 50 I've seen this year. You're missing out if you don't
make plans to see it.
Written by Joe DiPietro, the
comic genius responsible for Sierra Repertory Theatre's hit summer
production "I Love You, You're Perfect Now Change," the play is about
a 29-year-old Italian-American man named Nick (Todd Thomas), who eats
dinner weekly with his two sets of eccentric immigrant grandparents in
Hoboken, N.J.
When he announces he is
considering accepting a job offer across the country in Seattle, they
quickly devise a scheme -- involving an attractive young woman,
Caitlin (Senta Connolly) -- to get him to stay.
It sounds like a silly premise,
but it quickly gets surprisingly serious. Before we realize it,
DiPietro slyly explores questions of values and life choices. What's
more important -- family or career? How can we ever adequately repay
the loved ones who have devoted their lives to us? What legacy will we
leave for the next generation?
The story doesn't have a pat
ending, and it takes some unexpected twists.
Director Van Gordon wisely has
his cast play the characters straight, not as cartoon figures, which
adds poignancy to the show. All six talented actors have an easy
rapport with one another that makes us believe they are a real family.
Much of the comedy comes from
the interplay between the grandparents (Doug Scott, Dorothy Mulvihill,
Seth Turoonjian and Maryann Curmi). They're loud, delightfully
indiscreet and don't listen to what anyone's saying. At any moment,
they're liable to get distracted and start arguing about the various
specials at different grocery stores.
One of the funniest scenes
occurs when the grandparents invite Caitlin to dinner and present her
as a possible love interest for Nick. They tell her all about Nick's
rattle-biting problem as an infant and his experiences in therapy.
Veal is served, and when Caitlin says she's a vegetarian -- a concept
unfamiliar to the grandparents -- they assume she said veterinarian.
A discussion over the identity
of actors in a family Trivial Pursuit game brought tears of laughter
to my eyes: "Is she the one with the hair or the face? No, she's the
one with the feet."
It's moments like this that make
the sadness that comes later in the show all the more touching. Stage
3's cast makes you love the characters so much that you care deeply
about what happens to them. After Saturday's performance, I felt both
exhilarated and drained by the experience, but mostly grateful that I
was lucky enough to see such a memorable show.
Bee arts writer Lisa Millegan
can be reached at 578-2313 or
lmillegan@modbee.com.
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