“Moose on The Loose”

[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Theatre West’s production of “Moose on The Loose,” written by Dina Morrone, directed by Peter Flood, produced by Dina Morrone and Benjamin Scuglia, and running through May 21.

I was thrilled to finally see this show! I saw Dina Morrone’s solo show, “The Italian in Me” a couple of years ago and was so impressed by her as a writer and performer. “Moose on the Loose” is also autobiographical, but this time it’s not just Dina, it’s her entire family on stage…or at least some very fine actors playing her entire family. Oh, and there’s also an actual moose…or a facsimile thereof in the shape of a majestic and fur-draped actor replete with antlers. A kind of cuddly narrator and recurring theme.

Set in the wilds of Ontario Canada in mid-winter, in a small town whose collective vice is to watch the weather channel, the action centers around the Tapinno family. Italian immigrants who moved to Canada to make a new life. Traveling from the heat of Italy to the ice of Ontario, they were happy to have the opportunity to work hard and buy a home and to raise a family. Grandparents, parents and two sons live in the family house. The two daughters have moved on…one married with a son of her own and the other, “Gina,” has just arrived back home after living in Italy and she has a big secret!

This is a really funny play. The characters are vivid and cantankerous and gorgeously real. Life is hectic and loud and the old world often collides awkwardly with the new, but there’s a lot of love mixed in amongst the judgment and the drama and the boredom of being stuck inside for weeks on end because it’s almost too cold to breathe outside!

James Lemire as the Moose and Stuart W. Howard as Giuseppe. Photo credit: Carlos R. Hernandez.

As much as the ‘Italian’ culture is a big part of the storyline, there’s nothing derivative about this play. The opposite in fact. It’s a love story of a big messy Italian family. The older generations seem stuck in their ways, perhaps on the surface a little reluctant to change. But in the end, they are all remarkably resilient and able to adapt.  They did travel halfway around the world to a place they had never been, to speak a language they didn’t know to make a life for those they loved after all. So adaptation is part of their DNA.  We often forget this generation in particular had to rapidly evolve. Through wars and famine and economic disasters, disease and crushing losses.  They moved on. They made something happen because they had no choice but to.  

The humor is in the fighting and the drama, but the heart of this very clever and engaging story is in the love. Fierce and pure and never giving up kind of love. If this play is even slightly autobiographical then I wish I had such a family as this….

The cast is absolutely brilliant. Funny, intensely Italian and a gorgeous cast of beautifully studied characters. I could watch a new episode of this family every week…where is the TV show of “Moose on the Loose???” I am dead serious!

This play is perfect for Theatre West….I highly recommend “Moose on The Loose,” believe me you will not be disappointed! The only problem is you will be hungry by intermission, very, very hungry…for anything Italian! 

Tickets:

https://theatrewest.org/

When: 

Fridays and Saturdays 8pm. Sundays 2pm
Plus one *Special Sensory Friendly Relaxed Performance – Sunday, April 23

Where: 

3333 Cahuenga Blvd West, Los Angeles, CA 90068