\”Just tell me, Mary, are we the parents of the groom or the parents of the bride?\”
Although some communities choose to celebrate on a different schedule, June is generally regarded as LGBT Pride Month, in honor of the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan that were pivotal in launching a national movement of acceptance and celebration. This year, Gilda Shedstecker Presents! commemorates Pride with a new production of Donna de Matteo\’s Our Son\’s Wedding to celebrate the first anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that made same sex marriage universally legal in the United States.
But just because it\’s universally legal doesn\’t mean it\’s universally a happy occasion, as the strife between Angelo and Mary Lo Presto demonstrates. Angelo has never been able to relate to their gay son, Michael, let alone be happy he\’s now marrying a man. Mary has spent 30 years smoothing the bumpy relationship between the two males in her life, and she\’s just about had it. As this blue collar plumber and his wife arrive at the Ritz-Carlton for the nuptials, their own clogged communication backs up and overflows in the funniest way imaginable!
When Michael has wedding day jitters and explodes over the arrangements, Mary offers the same advice that she has practiced on his father for 3 decades: manipulate and be sneaky about it! Angelo is surprised to find himself siding with his son\’s fiancé to weather the storm as all kinds of closets open to reveal secrets and surprises galore. Will wedding bells ring for Michael and David after all?
Directed by Doug Tennant and stage managed by Tawny Plumley Burkhardt, Our Son\’s Wedding stars Tom Bryant and Cynthia Gribble as Angelo and Mary Lo Presto with Joe Soriano as Michael and Jared Michael Sparks as David. The comedy runs June 17, 18, 24, and 25 at the Kathleen Howland Theatre at 2nd April Galerie, 324 Cleveland Ave NW, Canton OH 44702. For more information and updates, join the Gilda Shedstecker Facebook page. Watch for announcements of special Pride ticket discounts for this celebratory show!