On the surface, it may be fair to surmise that dutiful grandson Nick acts in service to an ungrateful and stifling set of grandparents. None of them are thrilled when their 29-year-old whippersnapper of a grandson announces he is leaving Hoboken, N.J., for a new job in the rain-drenched Pacific Northwest. There is defiance among the four, acting out of spite for their own losses, but not what Nick’s life stands to gain.
In Joe DiPietro’s tender family story “Over the River and Through the Woods,” now running at City Lights Theater Company, the surface is only the beginning of what makes the story more complicated. Certainly, seeing a grandchild grow to be an accomplished adult ready to manifest their dreams should be selfless, but at what cost? Mortality in golden years comes closer with each passing day, and knowing Sunday family dinners have an expiration date hits these well-meaning senior citizens hard.
While the play does not break any new or innovative ground, with the first act not as strong as the second, “Over the River” is still able to offer some sentimental and emotional surprises. The story as it comes into its denouement is assisted mightily by the terrific veteran cast who advocate with force for their characters’ complicated realities.
Nick (Filip Hofman) is buzzing about with news to share, conflicted about what his new promotion across the country will mean to his cooky, tight-knit grandparents — he is fortunate to have dinner with two complete sets every Sunday. It’s clearly the day the seniors look forward to more than anything, including the stoic Frank (John Mannion) and his wife Aida (Karen DeHart), a woman always looking to stuff any variation of pasta into a nearby human. There is also the flashy aloha shirt-wearing Nunzio (Joseph “Joe” Walters) and his boisterously jolly wife Emma (Deb Anderson).
Feeling like he has the most selfish grandparents in the world after they make his announcement all about them would be the obvious thought. But what stands out is the hurt that rests in their eyes, informed by the agony in their crushed hearts. Nick provides them a present lifeline weekly to cultural heritage, but maybe he doesn’t understand that family is everything at some point, they argue. Could it be that Nick doesn’t realize he can stay home and have everything he wants? Maybe he just needs a nice girl to keep him close.
Cue Emma’s friend and Canasta partner, who has a granddaughter named Caitlin (Delaney Bantillo). Logically speaking, if they fall in love, then maybe they’ll keep their Nicky for good.
While that plan doesn’t truly work in the way they’d hoped, there are some real things that will keep Nick at the tender house full of bad wallpaper and overbearing heat. (Ron Gasparinetti’s scenic design is a delightful throwback to a very comforting grandparent home, with George Psarras’ sound adding serious crooner vibes, including plenty from Hoboken’s favorite son, Frank Sinatra.)
The ploys of these desperate grandparents is where the actors do their best work. Just notice the desperation inside Anderson’s turn as Emma, when she attempts to play the most brutal card in the deck through Nunzio, who is unrelentingly powerful in his silence. The pain of knowing Nunzio’s goodbye may mean more than the others is as throbbing as it is scintillating.
Mannion’s Frank also offers up a defiance that is quite complicated, but it’s his inner-torture that channels the raw emotions, leading to something resembling relatability. Despite those complications, the play’s epilogue is sweet and satisfying, as pathos-filled as one can ask. DeHart is a performer who possesses and utilizes uncanny abilities to make sense of her weighty characters, and these traits are on full display inside her sweetly nuanced portrayal of Aida.
Hofman has a rather challenging task, with his most effective work requiring his ability to listen and react to these goofily quirky senior citizens who are also quite funny. But as is the case with the rules of humor, it comes from a painful place within, a yearning for normalcy as the number of years begin to shorten, and memories start to fade.
After all, when old-time singer Tony Martin croons the lyrics, “There’s no tomorrow, there’s just tonight,” the grandparents hear something very different from Nick. For folks who built their entire life on the words “tengo famiglia,” they are not just living inside a motto, but surviving within their anthem.
David John Chávez is chair of the American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association and a two-time juror for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (‘22-‘23); @davidjchavez.bsky.social.
‘OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS’
By Joe DiPietro, presented by City Lights Theater Company
Through: Dec. 21
Where: City Lights Theater, 529 S. Second St., San Jose
Running time: 2 hours, with an intermission
Tickets: $30-$68; cltc.org