New Haven Theater’s ‘Goldfish’ swimming in bowl of family emotions

NEW HAVEN — Goldfish have been domesticated in China for almost 2,000 years. They symbolize fortune and good luck, and have even been immortalized in a cracker, “a snack that smiles back” at you.

They are hardy and adapt well to changes in life events. Believe it or not, beginning in 1884 for a decade, the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries sent you a goldfish, 20,000 in total, if you lived in Baltimore or Washington, D.C., and wrote your congressman.

Goldfish are also valuable for experimentation about vision, memory, psychology and skin cancer.

All that being said, it is ironic to me that playwright John Kolvenbach chose “Goldfish” as the title of his newest play being offered by the New Haven Theater Co. until Saturday.

“Goldfish” centers on two families, a father and son, and a mother and daughter. It is these college-age children who are the mature adults looking after their parents.

Nick Fetherston’s Albert tries to structure his father Leo’s life as he goes off to college in another state. He knows his dad, a tormented and weak John Strano, has serious challenges, not the least of which is an addiction to gambling. He puts financial roadblocks in place to make sure Leo does not sabotage their future.

At school, Albert, a loner, becomes enamored with Lucy, an outspoken and friendly Sara Courtmanche and their tentative courtship blossoms into love.

Enter Lucy’s inflexible mom Margaret, as created by Sandra E. Rodriguez, who has a fantastically unusual tale about Lucy’s dad, a father who is not in

the family portrait any longer.

What happens when Leo goes off track and Margaret stays adamantly fixated will have you shaking your head in sadness. Can this young couple overcome their heritage and find happiness together?

Come discover for yourself in this dramatic portrayal of family directed by John Watson.

Enter the lives of these two families as they strive to thrive in emotionally challenging times.

For tickets ($20), go online to newhaventheatercompany.com. The New Haven Theater Co. is located at 839 Chapel Street, New Haven, at the English Building Market.

Performances are Thursday at 7:30 p.m, and Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.

Photo courtesy New Haven Theatre Co. “Goldfish” will be playing at the New Haven Theater Co. through Saturday.