"A Nice Family Gathering" is Refreshing

Even the turkey is imperfect in Whittier Community Theater's ad for "A Nice Family Gathering"

           Especially around the time of Thanksgiving, everyone experiences a little family dysfunction along with the comradery that the holidays bring. None so more than the Lundeens who gather to celebrate their first Thanksgiving after death of their father. “A Nice Family Gathering” focuses around not only his absence from the family, but his presence. Dad (Jerry Marble) comes as a ghost and haunts his son, Carl (Justin Murphy), in attempts to try and relay the idea that though he never told them, he loved his family. The script by Phil Olson contains an accurate depiction of family life and director, Karen Jacobson, led the actors through supporting that vision through their portrayals.

            Olson got to the heart of the issues that a lot of families face and that is the reason this play has been growing in popularity across the country. The main issue was that the children felt their parents played favorites. The play explored the idea of “the golden child” and the pressure and tension that causes each member of the family. What makes the play so enjoyable is that everyone can see aspects of their family in the characters and family dynamics of the Lundeens. The feelings of each character are relatable and cause empathy. Most people struggle with their parents’ love and approval and Olson capitalizes on that subject matter to bring the play to life.

The set picturing the Lundeen family's home

            The cast was full of personality that splashed throughout the series subject matter. They were able to bring humor to an array of difficult topics, just as Olson had intended. Mom (Andrea Townsend) tried to handle the death of her husband of 35 years with strength, but lost her mind missing him. Her Alzheimer’s-like forgetfulness laced with humor gives the play its most unrealistic aspect, yet necessary comic relief. Laura McDowell played the role of Jill, the perfect daughter-in-law who struggled with barrenness amidst the pressure to bear grandchildren. Her raging hormones from fertility drugs were over the top and the only annoying, displeasing part of the production. Besides Townsend and MacDowell, the rest of the cast was very real and down to earth. John Warner, who played “the chosen son,” Michael, and Megan Duran who played the forgotten daughter, Stacy, rounded out the cast rather nicely with their seriousness as they were the true examples of favoritism among siblings and the pain and separation that follows.

            Jacobson pulled the show together with not only that near perfect casting but with a phenomenal set and blocking, and manipulation of the audience’s emotions as well. The set was cozy and automatically made the audience feel right at home. It was perfectly detailed to look like the living room of a house, from the family portrait, to the stockings hung by the chimney,down to the trophy case in the hall.  Her blocking established the family dynamic, like in the way she always had Stacy sitting at a separate chair or banished to the coffee table for dinner until the very end where the family came full circle with Stacy joining them on the couch. In ways such as this, Jacobson was able to keep the audience engaged and their emotions high.

Through her interpretation and execution of Olson’s script, the angle changes every couple of minutes and you find yourself rooting for different characters. One second the father is the bad guy who never showed the affection his kids and wife deserved and the next he is the father that was too busy providing, even though that meant giving up his passions. At first glance Carl, the main character, is looked down on by his family, and the next we see that he has been the pride of his parents the entire time. The changes in point of view are drastic and keep the audience on their toes, so Jacobson put Olson’s script into action well.

            The cast and crew did a great job taking Phil Olson script to the stage. “A Nice Family Gathering” is not perfect, but what family gathering is? You can see all that love for yourself at the Whittier Community Theater for its last two performances on Nov. 18 and 19 at 8 p.m.