Love and laughter make “Almost, Maine” a Thespian success

BY ABBIE TUSCHMAN

For their first ever summer production, the CCHS Thespians put on “Almost, Maine” by John Cariani. The piece, made up of nine short plays, takes place in Almost, Maine. Almost is a township that is not quite a town because its residents never got around to organizing it. In this almost-town, nearly on the border of Canada, numerous residents and visitors explore the complex issues of love, heartbreak and loss.

Directed by senior Alex Brower and stage managed by sophomore Rachel Goldberg, the performance demonstrated the willingness of the Thespians to tackle more complicated issues in the best way they know how- by putting on a show.

As a play about love, “Almost, Maine” touches on a few of its many complexities, such as falling for a best friend, numbing oneself to both love and pain and refusing to forget the one that got away. While some scenes made the audience swoon, the characters’ declarations and demonstrations of love occasionally felt labored and unnatural. But this might have been inevitable considering the choice of play. Since many high school students have not yet experienced love or its tribulations, showing desire and devotion could be an obstacle difficult to overcome.

Directed by senior Alex Brower and stage managed by sophomore Rachel Goldberg, the performance demonstrated the willingness of the Thespians to tackle more complicated issues in the best way they know how- by putting on a show.

Despite this, a number of Thespians surprised the crowd with their great acting. Some of the standout cast members were John Yearick as East, Annabelle Rosa as Glory, Rylee Berger as Deena, Brandon Otis as Phil and Hallie Israel as Marci.

“Almost, Maine” may be a show about love, but it also relies on humor to lighten up some of its heavier moments. In the scene “This Hurts,” a man unable to feel pain meets a woman in a toxic relationship while they are in a boarding house laundry room. Through slapstick comedy, including being hit on the head with an ironing board, cast members Kayden McGonigal and Myangel Amazan made the audience burst out laughing on several occasions. The last full scene, “Seeing the Thing,” took a different route and used risque humor to shock the crowd into laughter.

Yet many of the jokes in other scenes fell flat and aroused only a giggle or two from the crowd. This led to periods of somewhat uncomfortable silence from the audience. Through better comedic timing, “Almost, Maine” could have achieved a more proportional balance of hilarity and romance.

Even with the minor sound setbacks, the show was pulled together in the end through lights, controlled by Victoria Torres on Thursday night and Katie Behr on Friday night.

The show may have used very simple props, but they effectively set the scene of Almost, Maine and the various locations throughout the township. To make the audience feel as if they were watching scenes unfold in the bitterly cold Maine, the actors were clad in winter apparel such as coats, boots and mittens.

Though the costumes contributed to the setting of Almost, Maine, they also made for some technical difficulties. A few scenes of the show were difficult to follow because the heavy costumes muffled the actors’ microphones. Even with the minor sound setbacks, the show was pulled together in the end through lights, controlled by Victoria Torres on Thursday night and Katie Behr on Friday night.

As a whole, “Almost, Maine” can be considered a success for the Thespians. The interesting commentary on love made for a unique and amusing performance. Some aspects like comedic timing and sound quality could be improved upon, but there’s no doubt that the club will progress and continue to put on entertaining shows in the coming years.

Photo by Kayla Florenco