East coast flare brought to Glen Ellyn theater production

When audiences go to watch the Glen Ellyn Village Theatre Guild's latest production, "Over the River and Through the Woods," they can expect to see a little bit of East Coast flavor in the performance.

But it's not because the original Broadway play follows the dinner conversations of an Italian-American family in a New Jersey neighborhood, although that might help.

Instead, Director Carla Mutone brings her background as an Italian-American raised in Philadelphia to the table.

"There is a flavor of cadence and speech and how people move and some things that are a little bit different," Mutone said. "I have tried to capture the flavor of what I feel you would see if you came home for dinner on the east coast."

The theater group finishes its season with the production, which has weekend performances through June 12. It is the first time this season Mutone will direct a performance; she has been with the guild for several years.

She said the cast has made great strides since auditions began in March.

"They are creating a family and they look like a family," she said.

The veteran volunteer cast has increased its focus in recent weeks as they prepared for opening night on May 21, Mutone said.

"A plane could have landed in the middle of the building and it would not have fazed them at all," she said. "All of a sudden, they are doing these nuances that are just fabulous. It is so real, so believable."

The play is a family comedy that revolves around two sets of grandparents at Sunday dinner trying to convince their grandson not to take a job that would force a cross-country move.

Mutone said the actors have thrown themselves into the roles and even have improvised a few moments and gestures that have added to the overall story.

"It's a comedy, but there are so many loving moments," Mutone said. "They really are capturing that (moment) where you just want to cry sometimes."