“Over the River & Through the Woods,” August 17 through 27

Thursday, August 17, through Sunday, August 27

Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, 600 Robinson Road, Geneseo IL

Praised by Broadway World as "a wonderful night of theatre" and by NBC2 as a work that "evokes memories and warm feelings with a lot of laugh-out-loud moments," author Joe DiPietro's warmhearted comedy Over the River & Through the Woods enjoys an August 17 through 27 engagement at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, its Geneseo run sure to demonstrate why Chicago Critic raved, "At any stage of life – as child, young adult, parent, or grandparent – this charming play will touch your heart.

In Over the River & Through the Woods, Nick Cristano is a single, Italian-American guy from New Jersey. His parents retired and moved to Florida; his sister lives in California. That doesn’t mean, however, that he lacks family in Jersey, as Nick sees both sets of his grandparents every Sunday for dinner. This is routine until he has to tell them that he’s been offered a dream job, but one that will take him away from his beloved, but annoying, grandparents. The news doesn’t sit so well, and his grandparents wonder, "How could he betray his family’s love to move to Seattle for a job?" Thus begins a series of schemes to keep Nick around as Frank, Aida, Nunzio, and Emma do their level best, which includes bringing to dinner the lovely – and single – Caitlin O’Hare as bait.

Directing the Geneseo presentation of Over the River & Through the Woods is Richmond Hill favorite Jennifer Kingry, whose recent productions for the Barn Theatre include Silent Sky, Outside Mullingar, and The 39 Steps, and who directed the May presentation of Sense & Sensibility at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre. With Kingry also serving as technical director and operator and Mike and Jim Skiles on hand as set builders, Tyler Henning stars as Nick, the actor's notable area-theatre credits including roles in the Black Box Theatre's Hello, Dolly!, Quad City Music Guild's Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn, and Genesius Guild's The Comedy of Errors. Richmond Hill veteran Elizabeth Shaffer (All My Sons) portrays Caitlin, and Nick's grandparents are played by a quartet of fellow returnees to the Barn Theatre: Kevin Babbitt (Leaving Iowa), Jim Harris (Here Lies Jeremy Troy), Jackie Patterson (California Suite), and Jackie Skiles (Misery).

Over the River & Through the Woods will be staged at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre from August 17 through 27, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Admission is $12, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)944-2244 and visiting RHPlayers.com.