Linda Benson is best known as an actress, but right now she's occupying the director's chair and has put together a wonderful production for Anchorage Community Theatre.
"Over the River and Through the Woods" is a lively and touching comedy with genuine dramatic virtue, at least in this staging.
The situation involves Nick (Carl Bright), a young ad man who dines with his two sets of very Italian grandparents (Michele and George Blair as the Gianellis, Jane Baird and Bill Cotton as the Cristanos). He's the last of the younger generation sticking around Hoboken, New Jersey. His parents -- their children -- have retired to Florida and the only other grandchild lives in California. When he announces that he's moving to Seattle it shatters their world. They scheme to set him up with a local girl (Chloe Cotton) in hopes that settling down will keep him close to them.
So far we have all the ingredients for a sentimental show on the Hallmark Channel. But playwright Joe DiPietro gives a lot more. The caricature of a first-generation immigrant family is all there in the loud, gesture-enhanced cacophony around the dining room table, which is where most of the play takes place. (Food is a big part of the show.) But each character is given at least one monolog where we learn something about them and that focuses their individual stories of struggle, illness and love.
Those are important issues. Each character has to weigh how much of their own needs and expectations to lay on Nick. Nick must decide whether any or all of them outweigh the chance to grab a promotion that might not be offered again.
The play asks us: What do we owe the people who love us? What responsibilities obligate one generation to another? How do we balance family unity with individuality? Nick's parents didn't move to Florida because they were sick, one grandmother says. They left because they were afraid of turning into their parents.
The tension, sometimes poignant, makes "Over the River" much more than a two-hour sitcom episode.
The cast is quite good, each part credible, enjoyable and compelling. Timing is precise and effective without a drop in energy or a pause to be found. The director gets credit for that. It is a seamless show and a true pleasure to watch.
On Thursday night only a dozen people braved the slippery streets and ice warning to get into their seats. But their laughter, which was continuous for the first 15 minutes (and which returned repeatedly), sounded and felt like a full house.
OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS will be presented at 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 14 at Anchorage Community Theatre. Tickets are available at www.actalaska.com or by calling 868-4913. High school students can attend free on Thursdays and tickets are two-for-one for everyone else.