Factoid:The play will run from Nov. 29 through Dec. 15. This three-weekend play will begin at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets cost $10 for the Friday and Saturday plays and $7 for Sunday matinees.

The six cast members cannot help from laughing at the bananas and marshmallows being offered as veal for dinner. They sit at the dark wood dining room table decorated with cyan colored flowers. The pale pink wallpaper lines the walls of this Italian family home.

“It is a family show, a lot of fun. It is a nice thing for the holiday,” said Barbara Kupiec, who plays grandmother Aida Frank.

“Over The River and Through the Woods” by John Di Pietro will be performed by The Stage Co., debuting Thanksgiving weekend. Although day jobs may vary, members have a common interest in the theater. It is a place for everyone in the community.

“It is a very mixed group. There are university people and community people who just enjoy the theater at whatever level,” Kupiec said.

The company began performing in churches, high schools and any place they were allowed to act. Craig Hinde, who took an eight-year sabbatical from the Stage Co., will return for this comical play.

“I read it and liked it very much. It was full of humor and works wonderfully well and I saw myself in one of the roles,” Hinde said.

The spotlight shines intensely upon Nick Cristano, played by Brett Batteau while he narrates the traits of his grandparents.

His first step into theater was about 10 years ago. Throughout high school, he performed at Carbondale High School, working with director Mary Jo Hanes and assistant director Mary Boyle.

This dynamic duo, working together yet again in this fall’s Stage Co. production of “Over the River and Through the Woods,” never forgot Batteau’s abilities.

“The three F’s of life:family, faith and food,” he begins.

Nick clues the audience in on his grandparents, who provide much of the humor for this play. All four of them are Italian, and they treasure family and food more than anything else. They hug and kiss and speak loud enough so the person in the last row will have no problem hearing.

Nick eats a family dinner with his grandparents on both sides on a weekly basis. They spend time pushing him to get married. Aida Gianelli, in whose home the play takes place, is always pushing for her food to be eaten.

They sit around and laugh and joke about Frank Gianelli not being able to drive without crashing and Nick having eaten Chinese food, something they associate with cancer.

“We try to be as loyal to the words of the playwright. He probably worked six or seven times. We try to remain true to his interpretation,” said Jacquie Betz, who plays grandmother Emma Cristano.

“Chinese! You call that food?” screams grandma Gianelli.

The focus is getting their only grandson married yet keeping him close to home.

“Tengo familia!” the granparents scream.

The intense struggle to keep him at home becomes even harder once they hear of his promotion. They try setting him up with a friend of grandma Cristano, who is much younger, of course. Kaitlyn, his blind date, spends an intense dinner with this dynamic family.

This 29-year-old struggles to make his family see why he needs to live his life the way he sees fit. The greatness of love they have for their grandson to be happy turns into a roadblock for understanding. Portraying the typical elderly Italian grandparents, they understand nothing past their generation.

“They give him so much that they don’t understand, but they’re very proud. He tries to find out how life goes on,” Hanes said.

The Stage Co. was founded in 1982. Hinde was one of the founding members, along with others who approached the Bank of Carbondale and asked to purchase the building they left vacant for years. The bank gave them the building for free, and in no time, these determined actors were on the way to fixing lighting and building a stage and other necessities. Today it stands as the longest-lasting community theater in Carbondale.

“The longevity is amazing and rewarding,” Hinde said.

The six cast members, as well as the behind-the-scenes crew, have dedicated much time during a busy schedule for this spark of interest. Some members have even returned after many years to participate in the production of this Italian family comedy.

“I enjoy it a lot. It is a lot of fun. No one is paid. It deserves a lot of dedication. There is a tremendous response because we have others, so we don’t want to disappoint the audience. They are important because they paid. It is a good as we can make it,” Betz said.

Reporter Jackie Keane can be reached at [email protected]