[Gemini provides proof] that contemporary playwrights often combine traditional material and a contemporary approach. In outline, Gemini has its origins in the "rites of passage" drama of which Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! is an example. The contemporary twist given to this traditional comic situation, however, is to be found in Innaurato's addition of a complexity to the basic plot. His protagonist cannot be entirely certain whether his sexual preferences are heterosexual or homosexual. (p. 201)

From its inception, comedy has been concerned with the search for identity which often accompanies the rite of passage from youth to maturity. Gemini explores the dramatic consequences of this journey for a young man named Francis Geminiani…. The play takes place on the eve of his twenty-first birthday, the traditional date for decision-making about adult life….

Innaurato's greatest strength is his gift for creating characters who transcend stereotype. For [Francis's father] Fran there is the shame that surrounds his wife's desertion and the nagging fear that his son is not a "regular guy." For Lucille Pompi, there is the shame of her relationship with Fran which is at odds with her loneliness as a widow. For Bunny, there is the external brashness that conceals an inner insecurity. In each of the older characters there is a large measure of acceptance and resignation. (p. 202)

Innaurato's portraits of the Italian-American characters are fully realized. Though such distinguished playwrights as Arthur Miller, Clifford Odets, and Tennessee Williams have attempted to create credible characters from this particular background, Innaurato succeeds where the others do not. Lucille Pompi, one of the most comic characters in the play, provides the best example of those representing the older generation. Lucille's loneliness and isolation are strong elements of her characterization…. Lucille behaves according to the old code which is an established part of the Italian-American tradition. She cooks and provides for Fran; he is the center of her world. At the same time she is torn between this sense of duty and the fulfillment it brings, and the restrictions which are placed upon her by this code. She admits to feeling like an old sheet—"clean, neat, but used." But she tells Judith that the most "important thing is to show respect to her man." To show respect is to acknowledge his importance—the traditional mode of behavior. To challenge that tradition, in Lucille's eyes, would result in her becoming too much like Bunny, a poor wife, a poor mother, and a promiscuous woman. In the spaghetti dinner scene, Lucille "just picks"; she is forced to feign indifference to the meal by the role she has adopted in an effort to compensate for her loneliness and frustration. Even at the dinner table, she must adhere to the traditional pattern of behavior for the Italian woman, who prepares the meal but whose enjoyment comes from watching others eat it.

Francis, who represents the younger generation of Italian-Americans, undergoes the same trial of conscience. Unlike Lucille, however, he is ready to break with tradition and accept the consequences for his actions. At the end of the play, Francis has chosen to return to Boston rather than remain in Philadelphia. In Philadelphia there is only lack of understanding and rejection; in Boston there is the hope of acceptance and friendship. As his name suggests, Francis is at the center of the ambiguity which he must face. In his eyes, Judith and Randy are sibling rivals for his attention. Innaurato has cleverly chosen this mirror device to support his theme. Francis' decisions are two-sided. Whether they affect his sexuality or his struggle with his ethnic background, there are always complexities which make these decisions more difficult and ultimately more meaningful. (pp. 202-03)

If Innaurato's play is about the frustration and loneliness which surround the growth to maturity, it is also about the sense of independence and an unwillingness to conform that have long characterized the American people. (p. 203)