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'Almost, Maine' does come close
(by Herb Hammer - April 22, 2009)
THEATER, BY HERB HAMMER
'Almost, Maine' does come close
The River Street Playhouse, originally referred to as the Annex until this reviewer began calling the place the name the theater has carried for decades, is at it again. Once again, the tiny, 60-seat theater is outdoing its big brother, the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre.
This time, River Street is presenting a wonderful little play entitled, "Almost, Maine," by John Cariani.
The citizens of Almost never got around to organizing themselves as a real town, eligible to be included on the state map. Nor did the young townspeople ever seem to have gotten around to sorting out their real feelings.
Doled out in teaspoons, 10 tiny vignettes with four actors, two men and two women playing all 18 characters, Mr. Cariani's romance with his own favorite part of the world is a tingling success. Natalie Dolezal, Jon Gellott, Maggie Leach and Chuck Matthews play all 18 parts. The four of them never miss. They treat each role with warmth and understanding.
Almost is somewhere in Northwest Maine, where the sky is enormous and the young adults and their relationships are small and often misunderstood. Don't expect steamy sex. For these folks, a kiss is a big deal.
Forget about character development. Ten plays in two hours doesn't give you much time for that. But it is pretty amazing what can be accomplished in a few short sentences or often in a few moments of silence.
Hearts are broken and mended and sometimes broken again.
In "Getting it Back," a young woman packs up all the love received over the years in big plastic bags and returns them to her commitment-shy boyfriend like unwanted Christmas presents. You'll like this one. In fact, you'll like them all.
Then there's "Where it Went," in which a misplaced shoe drops from the sky, or, in this case, like the misplaced love of the shoe owner and her husband.
Comedy and a certain amount of sweetness keep Mr. Cariani's play warm in the midst of a Friday night winter.
In a scene aptly named "They Fell," two young men discover that they truly like being with each other more than they like being with girls.
In "Her Heart," the young woman clutches the bits and pieces of her shattered heart in a paper bag. The boy won't let that cause too much harm. He is, after all, a repairman. Well, they all can't be great.
Others take another supernatural turn as in "This Hurts." This time, a fellow named Steve is incapable of feeling pain and has to keep track of things that would cause him pain in a book his brother recommended. An unexpected kiss from a neighbor in an unhappy relationship releases Steve from his numbness into the sweeter wounds of the world.
Director David Malinowski keeps the cuteness from endangering his play. His characters might get a little too adorable, and, while the play has its hokey moments, he keeps them from being too quaint. With no more to work with than a bench and a tree and a lot of warm clothing, Mr. Malinowski has been able to create an atmosphere of a tiny town where all the guys drink beer and work at the mill.
Sad moments pop up here and there as this remote expanse is a natural harbor for the adorably lovelorn, the troubled and the lost, well, the Almost lost.
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