The War Whoop,Vol. 79 – Issue VIWednesday, Dec. 4, 2002
By ELAINE DISPO
Staff Writer
“Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go…”
Nick Cristano wishes he could sing that, instead of seeing all four of his grandparents everyday, as is the case in the debut play directed by new McMurry Theatre professor Sherrae Lott.
Over the River and Through the Woods premiered on Nov. 19 and continued every evening thereafter until strike on Nov. 23 in Ryan Fine Arts Building. Ryan Little Theatre presented the play, while RyanArtGallery inspired the production by hosting an Italian dinner the latter three nights before the show.
Playwright Joe DiPietro writes about an Italian family who lives by the three Fs: faith, food and family. In fact, the Cristanos and Gianellis believe in the philosophy of ¡Tengo familia! (“Support your family.”)
Shawn Williamson, who has already delivered several extraordinary performances on campus – among them being Private Eyes in September and Chapter 2 in October – lights up the stage once again, as the main character, Nick Cristano, a 29-year-old businessman from New Jersey who just got offered a promotion to upper-management of a marketing firm in Seattle, Wash.
He refuses to pass up such an opportunity, yet he faces the problem of sharing the news with his old-fashioned grandparents.
Along with the Italian accents Nick’s grandparents - Alett Gray (Emma Cristano), Amy Lewis (Aida Gianelli), Casey Jones (Nunzio Cristano) and Donald Walraven (Frank Gianelli) - use, their characters’ lines and personalities each provide comedy to this poignant story.
Gray and Lewis, who co-starred with Williamson in Chapter 2, join him once again, but this time as his paternal and maternal grandmothers, accordingly.
Jones and Walraven, director and stage manager of Chapter 2 correspondingly, also reunite as they portray Nick’s paternal and maternal grandfathers, respectively.
After Nick’s sister, Melissa, moves to San Diego, Calif., with her husband, and their parents settle in Florida, Nick’s two sets of grandparents long to keep Nick close and refuse to let him go; after all, if he did, their family would live in all four coastal corners of the continental United States!
Both Nunzio and Frank find difficulty in closure because they have already experienced it: Nunzio when he sees Nick’s late uncle Nick (his namesake) off to the Korean War and Frank when his deceased father bids him farewell from Italy to a better life in the U.S.
This justifies their reasons of attempting to convince Nick to stay. Emma even goes as far as to setting him up on a blind date with an Irish nurse by the name of Caitlin O’Hare, played by Trisha Teig, one Sunday evening, when they usually gather at the Gianellis’ Hoboken, NJ, home for dinner.
Caitlin rejects Nick twice. The first time, she turns him down because he accuses his grandparents of interfering with his life, so after she goes home, he collapses, giving him little choice but to recover at his maternal grandparents’ house. Again, she declines on dating him to avoid risking attachment if he ends up in Washington state.
Nick leaves behind his maternal grandfather Frank – an aging reckless driver and mandolin player – and grandmother Aida – a nonstop cook who insists on feeding anybody who “looks hungry” – as well as his paternal grandmother Emma – a devout Catholic who always gives him mass cards – and grandfather Nunzio – who never tells him about his prostate cancer. Nick does not find out until the event of his paternal grandfather’s funeral a couple of months after his relocation. If he knew, he says he ultimately would have stayed in a heartbeat.
However, he eventually meets the wishes of his matchmaker grandmother when he marries Theresa, an accountant he met on the east coast, who gives birth to their child after his transfer to Portland, Or.
The audience can learn from Nick by appreciating the simple things in life, such as: dancing and singing “Yessir, Baby,” eating dinner on Sunday nights and guessing or passing up answers to Trivial Pursuit with both sets of grandparents.
Unlike the challenge of making a final decision like Nick has to do, dinner guests had an easier choice on their menu between veggie lasagna and spaghetti with either alfredo or marinara sauce as their main course, in addition to side dishes of a salad topped with either Italian or Ranch dressing, a breadstick with rose-whipped butter and sugar-snap peas. Along with water and tea as beverages, coffee was also served with carrot cake iced with Irish cream for dessert.
McMurry theatre students catered to the eaters’ needs by waiting on them in a first class way. Hosts showed them to their tables, servers brought out their dinner and ushers even tore their tickets in movie theatre style.
Those that made reservations for both the dinner and the show were in for a treat to all of their senses. Lori Sims played pleasant music on her violin to accompany the eye candy of Susie Holamon’s exhibit on the wall of RyanArtGallery. The atmosphere offered romance, complete with candles burning on champagne bottles, eliciting a feeling of warmth. The aroma and taste of the meal topped off the pre-show.
Even for those who did not eat at the dinner theatre, the senses also came alive during the play, especially with the emphasis on good food and family times.
The three Fs help ring in the holiday season with festivities full of faith, food and of course, family to our neck of the woods!
Over the River and Through the Woods Cast & Crew Members(in order of appearance)
NICK CRISTANOShawn Williamson
FRANK GIANELLIDonald Walraven
AIDA GIANELLIAmy Lewis
NUNZIO CRISTANOCasey Jones
EMMA CRISTANOAlett Gray
CAITLIN O’HARETrisha Teig
* An asterick (*) indicate designers of their designated crews, which include:
DIRECTORSherrae Lott
ASSISTANT DIRECTORAlisa de la Cruz
STAGE MANAGERDaniel Tuttel
SHOP FOREMANLeon Rhoades
SOUND ENGINEERLiz Banks
LIGHT BOARD OPERATORSarah Locke
LIGHT DESIGNERCharlie Hukill
SET CREWPhilip Craik*, Leon Rhoades, Andrew Calucag, Allen Turner and McM Theatre Dept.
PROP CREWTrisha Teig* and Alisa de la Cruz
COSTUME CREWCasey Jones*, Cynthia Barker, Alisa de la Cruz and Alett Gray
MAKE-UP CREWAshley Phillips*, Zach Gleason and Amanda Keith
What:Over the River and Through the Woods
- Written by John DiPietro
- Through arrangement with Dramatists Play Service
When:Nov. 19 – Nov. 23, 7:30 p.m. curtain call & 6:30 p.m. dinner
Where:RyanFineArtsBuilding (ArtGallery for dinner & Little Theatre for show)
Cost:$8 for adults and $3 for students; $18 for dinner & show
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