John Cariani’s Almost, Maine is an exquisite, poetic piece. A number of extremely short plays (not sketches) with a common thread. The excruciation, the bliss, the irony, the confusion of love. Each fable happens on the brink of an important revelation. A cusp. Each has its own tone, its own salient emotion. A man sends a potential girlfriend on preposterous journey. A man crosses paths with his ex, only to have his last scrap of hope demolished. A woman visits her fiancee to return all the love she gave him. I think it’s fair to say each story has more than one point. Often we don’t know where one is headed. You’ve probably figured by now there’s more than a little absurdity, but it’s closer to Beckett than The Marx Brothers.
There’s an ethereal kind of tint to Almost, Maine. I’ve noticed some productions lean more towards the humorous aspects, even when the content is somber. This is director’s discretion, of course, but I’m glad that Nancy Cecco and Martin Mussey didn’t give us short shrift. Some of this is positively wrenching, but it fits the structure. None of the incidents, are extraordinary, exactly, though they sometimes feel whimsical. They present the couples with a choice to make, even if it’s to accept a hard truth. Taken as a single experience, Almost, Maine bears a kind of enchantment: the mysterious, the serendipitous, the aha!, the tingle or the grief that pushes us to the next episode. Like a gestalt, it fuses to an epiphany greater than the sum of its parts. When you leave and it washes over you, it’s astonishing.
Laurels, to Cecco and Mussey for this remarkable, nuanced production, Almost, Maine shimmers with various degrees of hues, and these two hit every note. It’s a demanding script, it’s too easy to settle for a gloss, though I daresay some cannot resist that temptation. It’s deceptively simple, like a haiku or a koan. The cast: Brian Hoffman, Maxine Frauenheim, Johnny Jordan, Jr, Sydney Dyer, Jamie Gutzler, Brett Femrite, Ian Grygotis, Kathleen Vaught and Tim Desky have clearly brought their A-Game: versatility, authenticity, focus and energy to this splendid show.
Productions of this caliber are exceedingly rare. Don’t miss your this last chance this weekend.
BTW: Watch out for that shoe.
Allen Contemporary Theatre presents: Almost, Maine, playing now January 24th- February 9th, 2025. 1210 E Main Street, #300, Allen, TX, United States, Texas,75002. (844) 822-8849.
(Fridays and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 3)