On the surface, it may be fair to surmise that dutiful grandson Nick acts in service to an ungrateful and stifling set of grandparents. None of them are thrilled when their 29-year-old whippersnapper of a grandson announces he is leaving Hoboken, N.J., for a new job in the rain-drenched Pacific Northwest. There is defiance among the four, acting out of spite for their own losses, but not what Nick’s life stands to gain.

In Joe DiPietro’s tender family story “Over the River and Through the Woods,” now running at City Lights Theater Company, the surface is only the beginning of what makes the story more complicated. Certainly, seeing a grandchild grow to be an accomplished adult ready to manifest their dreams should be selfless, but at what cost? Mortality in golden years comes closer with

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