“Over the River and Through the Woods” - By Joe DiPietro - Calliope Productions (Boylston, MA.) - REVIEW
(Cover Photo: The CAST of Joe DiPietro's "OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS" from Calliope Productions in Boylston, MA. now playing through October 25, 2026. Photo Courtesy of Calliope Productions)
By Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMAG Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
“You know what that’s like? I’ve lived long enough to have a great grandson and he has no idea who I am – why I’m important to him.”
- ("Frank") / Joe DiPietro
Calliope Productions
Presents Joe DiPietro's
"OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS"
Written by Joe DiPietro
Directed by Tracy Martino
Cast Includes: Patrick Ackley as “Nick Cristano,” Michael Lapomardo as “Frank Gianelli,” Betty Kristan as Aida Gianelli,” Michael Celularo as “Nunzio Cristano,” Cindy Bell as “Emma Cristano,” Elizabeth Jacoby as “Caitlin O'Hare.”
Additional Creative Team:
Stage Manager/Props - Kim LiPuma; Costumes - Donna Reidy; Set - Dave Ludt, Bob Reidy, Neal Martel, Rob Killeen; Lighting/Sound - Matthew Valeri; Social Media - Rob Killeen.
Performances:
October 15, 2026 through October 25, 2026
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
CALLIOPE THEATRE, 150 Main Street, Boylston, MA. 01505
TICKETS:
For tickets and more information contact the Box Office at 508-869-6887 or visit https://www.ticketstage.com/T/CALLIOPE
BUY TICKETS
COVID 19 PROTOCOLS
Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.
(Warning: The following review contains spoilers)
Calliope Productions journeys into autumn with the amusing and heartwarming "OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS" now playing in Boylston, MA.
While the two-act play may at times come across as drippy, family mawkishness, at the center of Joe DiPietro’s script is genuinely sweet family fare.
The script by DiPietro walks a very fine line, but it never trips to the side where the story feels like a sitcom episode - especially one from the classic series "The In-Laws" (which likely only those of us of - ahem - a "certain age" might recall).
Published in 1998, "OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS" ran Off-Broadway for two years proving itself popular with theatregoers and running for a respectable total of 800 performances.
Now, 28 years hence, the collective performances given by this six-member Calliope cast constantly impress throughout the show as staged by director Tracy Martino.
(Photo: Michael Lapomardo as “Frank Gianelli” with Betty Kristan as Aida Gianelli” in a scene from Joe DiPietro's "OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS" from Calliope Productions in Boylston, MA. now playing through October 25, 2026. Photo Courtesy of Calliope Productions)
DiPietro wrote the book and lyrics of the musicals “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” and “Memphis.”
With "OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS," there is a feeling of familiarity because, while all three shows tend to feature "stereotypical" characters, DiPietro’s approach to the material brings enjoyable authenticity and sincerity to the dialogue.
Picture it: Hoboken, New Jersey, late 1980s.
Nick Cristano (Patrick Ackley), at 29 years old, is an established marketing executive based in New York City.
However, his loving grandparents never let him forget where he belongs: in New Jersey...with them...always with them.
Nick’s two sets of old-school Italian-American grandparents still reside, as they have for over a generation - two doors down from each other in Hoboken.
Every Sunday, like clockwork, they spend their Sunday meals together…with Nick.
Nick’s parents have retired and moved to Florida and his only sister has relocated to California, leaving him his grandparents’ only remaining local familial connection.
Ackley serves well in the role of straight man Nick, who must react reservedly to all the eccentricities displayed by his grandparents - but soon Nick must deliver them some shocking news.
Without becoming caricatures, the four actors playing Nick's grandparents embody DiPietro's central themes of old-world tradition, guilt-infused nurturing, and intergenerational devotion.
Nick's grandmother, Aida (Betty Kristan) is, according to Nick, a “genius” in the kitchen who is constantly…but lovingly…forcing food on Nick...or anyone...or everyone.
Presenting an unfeigned portrait of Aida, Kristan lets us see the character as the emotional heart and domestic anchor of this Italian-American family.
Nick’s grandfather, Frank (Michael Lapomardo), keeps the house hotter than a greenhouse in July.
Lapomardo as Frank is quite believable as a man driven by his guiding mantra “Tengo famiglia” (i.e. “I’m a family man”).
As Frank, Lapomardo tenderly delivers an emotional monologue recalling how, back as a child in Italy, Frank's father put him alone on an immigrant boat to America, imparting a lifelong lesson that family is the center of existence.
Nick must now impart how Frank is at another point in life where he has become a moving violation personified and Nick must tenaciously…but tenderly…convince Frank that he must give up driving.
(Photo: The CAST of Joe DiPietro's "OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS" from Calliope Productions in Boylston, MA. now playing through October 25, 2026. Photo Courtesy of Calliope Productions)
Michael Celularo and Cindy Bell play Nunzio and Emma, Nick’s other equally quirky grandparents.
Cindy Bell, as Emma, gives a focused portrayal of the character's deeply traditional worldview.
Emma is devout, promoting life as having a strict script where people are meant to: find a spouse, marry, have children...and never leave their elders.
Michael Celularo is consistently in tune with the Nunzio character in a sensitively nuanced performance, required as insouciant Nunzio has a secret which he keeps to himself...and from Emma.
This was an extremely clever device by DiPietro as that allowed some of Nunzio’s interactions with Nick and Emma to become more heightened and emotionally multi-layered.
This minor infusion of drama prevents the play from becoming too predictable and therefore uninteresting.
While the “Italian-American” element of DiPietro’s story seems belabored at times, thanks to director Martino's even-handed approach, the play never leans toward any of the characters appearing as condescending stereotypes.
(Photo: Elizabeth Jacoby as “Caitlin O'Hare” with Patrick Ackley as “Nick Cristano” in a scene from Joe DiPietro's "OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS" from Calliope Productions in Boylston, MA. now playing through October 25, 2026. Photo Courtesy of Calliope Productions)
As Nick informs his grandparents that he is relocating to Seattle because of a big job promotion, the initial reaction by his grandparents and the show’s subsequent events should feel all too familiar in any similar family dynamic.
Emma and Aida conspire to find a girl for Nick in the hopes he’ll change his mind and want to remain in Hoboken.
Emma invites young Caitlin (delightfully played by Elizabeth Jacoby) over to meet Nick, hopefully to give him a reason to stay near them.
Sparks do fly between Nick and Caitlin, but not in the way the well-intentioned manipulators expect, as Nick sees through the manipulation and, in an explosive emotional outburst, suffers an anxiety attack.
The Calliope performances are equally earnest - funny without falling into farce, successfully achieving huge laughs throughout the show.
There is a “Trivial Pursuit” game scene which is the comedic high point of the play as it will feel very familiar to those who recall any of their own family game nights with (ahem) folks of a "certain age."
(Photo: The CAST of Joe DiPietro's "OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS" from Calliope Productions in Boylston, MA. now playing through October 25, 2026. Photo Courtesy of Calliope Productions)
The single set design served the material well allowing for quick redressing between scenes - a nice touch was a painting of the "Last Supper" set directly behind a long dining table with all the chairs placed on one side.
The use of isolated lighting helped augment the impact of the various monologues performed throughout the show.
Nick tells us his family's mantra is comprised of three basic things: “Family," "Faith" and "Food.”
As we go “OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS” to Calliope Productions in Boylston, MA. from now until October 25th, 2026, audiences will faithfully dine together as family with this abbondanza of sweets.
Coming up next for Calliope will be the family favorite "SHREK THE MUSICAL" by David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori, beginning December 10th and running until December 20th, 2026.
For tickets and more information contact the Box Office at #508-869-6887 or visit https://www.ticketstage.com/T/CALLIOPE
BUY TICKETS
Approximately two hours with one intermission.
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT THE SHOW
Nick Cristano may be living the life of a modern young professional in New York City, but his loving grandparents never let him forget where he belongs...
...in New Jersey, in the bosom of his tenacious, tender-hearted, loud, loving, and well-fed Italian-American grandparents, who live two doors down from each other in Hoboken, and who lavish all of their affection on their last unmarried grandchild.
Faithfully, Nick goes “over the river” to Grandma’s house every week for Sunday dinner.
When he is offered an important promotion in Seattle, Washington, Nick threatens to break this routine by a distance of some 2,800 miles!
Frank, Aida, Emma, and Nunzio are heartbroken at the prospect of their beloved grandson raising a family all the way across the country -- or worse, not raising a family at all!
Besides the usual tactics of emotional blackmail, in order to keep him safe at home, these wily elders cook up a matchmaking scheme, inviting lovely nurse Caitlin O’Hare over for Sunday dinner.
Will the prospect of true love keep Nick from moving across the country?
Joe DiPietro's "OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS" is a warm-hearted, boisterously funny, and touching story about intergenerational relationships, deep familial love, and the inevitable little heartbreaks that occur as time passes and children grow. (STAGEAGENT)
ABOUT CALLIOPE PRODUCTIONS
CALLIOPE PRODUCTIONS is a year-round non-profit theatre company founded in 1982 that serves the needs and interests of audiences and performers in the Central Massachusetts region. CALLIOPE PRODUCTIONS presents six main-stage productions each year, and operates performance training workshops for students (ages 9 - 18) and adults. CALLIOPE PRODUCTIONS is a member of the American Association of Community Theatre, the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theatres and the Worcester Cultural Coalition.
150 Main Street
Boylston, MA. 01505
# 508-869-6887
