Over The River & Through The Woods/Rocket Man

About the Show & Characters

Over the River & Through the Woods (Play - Mainstage, Kizzie)

By: Joe DiPietro

Every Sunday, Nick crosses the river from New York to New Jersey and has dinner with his four Italian-American grandparents. It’s a tradition built on love, laughter, and a lot of food. But when Nick reveals he’s accepted a job across the country, his grandparents are determined not to let him leave without a fight. Over the River and Through the Woods is a heartfelt and hilarious comedy that celebrates family bonds, generational differences, and the bittersweet moments of growing up. 

Content/Intimacy Notice

Over the River… contains occasional mild language, including swearing.  Other moments include strong expressions of frustration and passion, family arguments, and panic attacks and fainting.

There is some, but limited physical/intimate moments in this show that could include: 

• non-romantic/non-violent female to female physical contact  
• non-romantic/non-violent male and female physical contact  
• non-romantic/non-violent male to male physical contact  

Consent-forward intimacy staging will be part of any rehearsal involving these scenes.  If you have concerns you would like to discuss, contact Cole at [email protected].  Concerns or limitations with any of the above material will not affect your consideration for the roles.

Characters

NICK CRISTANO - (Male, 30s) A young, single man in New York City. He retains close ties to his family roots in New Jersey.

FRANK GIANELLI - (Male, 60-80s) Nick’s maternal grandfather.

AIDA GIANELLI - (Female, 60-80s) Nick’s maternal grandmother.

NUNZIO CRISTANO - (Male, 60-80s) Nick’s paternal grandfather.

EMMA CRISTANO - (Female, 60-80s) Nick’s paternal grandmother.

CAITLIN O’HARE - (Female, 20s-30s) A nurse living and working in New Jersey. Single and looking for love, she agrees to a set-up, going to a Sunday dinner to meet Nick.

Director: Phillip Fazio

Stage Manager: TBD

ROCKET MAN

About the Show & Characters

Rocket Man (Play - Blackbox, Price)

By: Steven Dietz

Rocket Man is a bittersweet, funny, contemplative drama about Donny, a man who feels increasingly disconnected from his own life. After the collapse of his marriage, a strained relationship with his daughter, and years spent feeling unseen by the world around him, Donny decides to “opt out” of the future by building a device designed to send him to a parallel world. The night before he plans to use it, key people in his life—his ex-wife, his best friend, his daughter, and his neighbor —stop by, each revealing their own loneliness, confusion, and unspoken regrets. Through a blend of quiet humor and emotional honesty, the play explores disconnection, missed chances, and the longing to undo past mistakes. Act 2 is set in a parallel world where the same characters have made different choices in their life, but still have to reckon with their choices and the fragile connections that give life meaning.

Content/Intimacy Notice

Rocket Man contains themes of mental health, clinical depression, references to suicide, coarse language, with the presence of a gun/gunshot, and mild violence:

• Injury and death caused by gunshots and stabbing
• male-to-male physical violence

Other intimate moments may include: 

• romantic/non-violent male and female kissing, 
• romantic/non-violent male and female physical contact
• non-romantic/non-violent male-to-male physical contact  
• non-romantic/non-violent male and female physical contact  

Consent-forward intimacy staging will be part of any rehearsal involving these scenes.  If you have concerns you would like to discuss, contact Cole at [email protected].  Concerns or limitations with any of the above material will not affect your consideration for the roles.

Characters

DONNY - (Male, 40s-50s) A middle-aged land surveyor and a failed landscape architect.  Suffering a mid-life crisis.

BUCK - (Male, 40s-60s) Donny’s neighbor and friend. Lost in the world, trying to find his place and purpose.

RITA - (Female, 40s-60s) Was once married to Donny. Honest and direct.

TRISHA - (Female, 15-19) The disillusioned teenaged daughter of Donny and Rita.

LOUISE - (Female, 30s-50s) Donny’s coworker/potential love interest who has friend-zoned Donny.

Director: TBD

Stage Manager: TBD