MANSFIELD — Family: Can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em.
At least, that’s what the characters learn in “Over the River and Through the Woods,” the newest creative endeavor gracing the stage of the Mansfield Playhouse this weekend.
The show tells the story of Nick, a single, Italian-American guy from New Jersey, played by Ontario resident David McWhorter. Nick’s parents retired and moved to Florida, but he still sees both sets of his grandparents every Sunday for dinner.
“He loves his family, he loves his grandparents and he loves his job,” McWhorter said of his character. “Nick can get annoyed easily, but still be loving at the same time.”
Nick has to break the news to his beloved, but annoying, grandparents that he’s been offered a dream job — across the country. The news doesn’t sit so well, and thus begins a series of schemes to keep Nick around.
Suzanne Allen, who plays one of Nick’s grandmothers, Emma, described the group as a “stereotypical, loud Italian family.”
“One of my lines is, ‘I like to go places and do things.’ I’m a doer,” Allen said. “But the heart of the show is the family. We might not express it very well because we’re kind of in his face, but what it comes down to is wanting Nick to have the best.”
Director Doug Wertz described the show as family-friendly, endearing, and relatable.
Rounding out the cast is Chevy Bond as Caitlin, Carl Hunnell as Nunzio, Jacob Hunsinger as Frank and Barbara Zaugg as Aida.
McWhorter said even beyond the script, he’s been able to bond with his cast mates. He recalled a scene where Frank tells Nick a story of his own father back in Italy, and Nick meditates on the complexity of his grandparents’ lives.
“Through our rehearsals and my character’s bond, I think I grew closest to (Frank) because of the way the lines were written,” McWhorter said. “There’s a lot of fun banter in there.”
This is the first show in about 10 years that McWhorter has performed in. For a long time, similar to the characters in the show, family was McWhorter’s greatest priority.
“My kids are most important; their success is my success,” he said. “I finally have an opportunity to squeeze theatre back in now that they’re old enough, and I’m so excited.”
Meanwhile, Allen has been a frequent flyer at the Mansfield Playhouse for the past 20 years. She said the theme of family is what drew her to this show in particular.
“There’s funny parts and there’s kind of bittersweet parts, and there’s ridiculous parts…it has a little bit of everything,” she said.
“Over the River and Through the Woods,” a story of “love, laughter and lasagna,” opens this weekend at the Mansfield Playhouse. Show dates are March 8, 9, 15 & 16 at 8 p.m. and March 17 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.mansfieldplayhouse.com.
