EgoPo Classic Theatre presents Albert Innaurato’s Gemini

Set in the summer of 1976, the year of America’s Bicentennial, the play arrives now as the city starts celebrating our Semiquincentennial. This friction between the city’s past and present gives the production a surprising weight. In his director’s notes, Eissler describes the show as "a Hallmark movie directed by John Waters after one too many Citywides." It is exactly that: a collision of the grotesque and the sentimental, a love letter to the Italian and Irish enclaves of South Philadelphia written in grease, pasta sauce, and opera arias.

Worlds colliding

The plot centers on Francis Geminiani (Tommy Sullivan-Lovett), a Harvard student whose two worlds collide when his wealthy college friends, Judith (Eliza Waterman) and Randy (Kohl Pilgrim), crash his 21st birthday party. To make matters more complicated, Francis is on the verge of coming out as gay. The play’s queer politics feel surprisingly simple, almost refreshing. Situated in a fascinating window of gay liberation, seven years after Stonewall but before the shadow of the AIDS epidemic and the conservative backlash of the 80s, Francis’s panic is purely personal, not yet political.

In the first act, Sullivan-Lovett reads as glummer and more angsty than perhaps necessary, occasionally getting lost in the noise of the ensemble. However, their performance blooms after intermission; as Francis’s internal crisis boils over, Sullivan-Lovett finds a raw, frantic energy that anchors the show’s emotional climax.

They are surrounded by a cast that devours the scenery with recognizable South Philly hunger. Johnny Fernandez is a standout as Fran, Francis's father. Fernandez imbues the role with a warm, rough-hewn affection that makes the central conflict heartbreaking. We see clearly why Francis resents his father’s South Philly myopia, but thanks to Fernandez’s tender performance, we also see the rich, unconditional love Francis is too snobbish to accept.

Balancing this father-son dynamic is Fran’s girlfriend, Lucille (Annette Kaplafka), who is played with a touching mix of resilience and insecurity. Kaplafka’s performance is hard-edged and funny, but it also reminds us that amidst the identity crises of the youths, this is also a story about middle-aged loneliness and the desire for companionship.

Comedy and connection

The comedic heavy lifting, however, belongs to the neighbors. Melanie Julian feasts on the role of Bunny Weinberger, the loud-mouthed engine of the play’s chaos. Julian finds the tragedy beneath the caricature, showing us that Bunny’s relentless drive for attention is fueled by a desperate isolation. Her son, Herschel (Jeff Pfieffer), represents the script's most dated element. Written as a neurodivergent punchline, the character can easily become offensive. While the writing here shows its age, Pfieffer and the production work hard to humanize him, finding moments of genuine connection that soften the rougher edges of 1970s comedy.

The Harvard interlopers, Waterman and Pilgrim, provide the perfect foil. Waterman fearlessly tackles Judith, arguably the least likable character, leaning into her pretension with comedic zest, while Pilgrim is wonderfully endearing as Randy, bringing an aw-shucks Golden Retriever energy that makes him easy to fall in love with.

Like a real rowhouse

The immersive, authentic set design by Andrew Robinson transforms the theater into a convincing rowhome backyard, and the dialect work by Maria Buckholder is spot-on.

On the performance I attended, the playwright’s family was in the audience, adding a layer of poignancy to the event. The house was sold out, and for good reason. EgoPo has found the pulse of the neighborhood.