Wandering moose helps immigrant family deal with changes in latest STC play
Large ensemble comedy opens February 16 and runs until March 5
A moose has wandered into the northern Ontario town of Way Up Bay and is displaced and confused.
That's just part of the premise behind the Sudbury Theatre Centre's latest production, Moose on the Loose. The play is billed as a hilarious, heartwarming story of an immigrant family.
The story follows three generations of an Italian family, who have immigrated to a fictional town set in northern Ontario.
The family left the southern Mediterranean coast in the early 60s and arrived in bush country, north of the shores of Lake Superior.
The play is loosely based on true events from the life of Dina Morrone, originally from Thunder Bay, Ont. The actor and writer is now lives in Los Angeles.
"Things go awry, and you really get to see the Italian dynamic come out to play," says actress Tracey Beltrano, originally from Sault Ste Marie. She plays Gina Tappino in the STC production.
"When I read the play I realized I was telling my family's story," says actor Gerry Medicino, who plays the grandfather.
Medicino was born and raised in North Bay, but his ancestors came from Calabria, Italy.
"They moved to North Bay in the dead of winter. Every time I tell this story now they're with me. I don't have to do any acting."
Sudbury's Sanda Batagglini says she can relate to Moose on the Loose, since her character's parents have similar personalities to her real life parents.
"We're all Italian, and we'll let you know that you're allowed to come and laugh very loudly. We will not be offended," says Beltrano.
Battagglini says the play is about family, acceptance and being open to new ideas.
Moose on the Loose opens at the STC February 16 and runs until March 5.