Back by popular demand, “Almost, Maine,” a romantic comedy written by John Cariani set in suburbia Maine that explores the bonds and boundaries of love, is returning to Players by the Sea Theatre in March.
“Almost, Maine” was presented as a limited engagement run in March of 2015. The play, directed by Bradley Akers with a cast featuring Ricky Watson, Drew Brown, Kat McLeod, Megan Georgeo, Kaiti Barta and Grant Williams, is broken down into nine vignettes that all connect in some way. Northern lights, produced by special effects above the audience’s head as a tool of engulfing them into the world, serve as transitional pieces from one vignette to the next.
When it came to deciding on scenery for the play, Akers notes that many theatre groups will create lavish scenescapes for this particular play, but in his vision for the story, he wanted to focus on the words.
“This play is about the words. [John Cariani] wrote really beautiful dialogue; he created really cool relationships, so in turn, it’s really stripped down, and it’s all about the one on one or the one on twos that happen in the play,” Akers said.
Although the play, which is the most produced play in North American high schools, is described as a comedy, Akers points out that the playwright will say that it’s actually very tragic.
“It’s very funny – it’s a very charming, and beautiful and sweet play,” Akers said. “But love is kind of tragic too – not getting what you want and falling out of love (and sometimes falling in love) is hard to do and it gets a little tragic. I think that’s why this play works - because it’s so real,” he said.
“Anybody and everybody can relate to something in the play whether they’ve fallen in love, whether they’ve been married, divorced, separated... It’s a really interesting piece that I think is really a strong piece of theater that lets a director, actors, designers really do something unique and interesting with – something to dig your teeth into too. It’s a play for everybody,” said Akers.
During the run of the show, visual artist Anthony Whiting will have his work featured in the Grune Family Gallery. Whiting will be in the gallery during the pre-show of the March 12 performance. The theatre is also having a coat drive for new or gently used coats during the length of the performance – a nod to the play which is set on a cold winter’s night. The coats will be donated to the Mission House.
“Almost, Maine” is the sixth production of Players by the Sea Theatre’s milestone 50th season. In celebration of the 50th season, an exhibition exploring the past 50 years of the theatre, which was founded in 1966 by three Beaches couples who shared a love for the theatre, is on display at the Beaches Museum & History Park. “Lights Up: 50 Years of Players by the Sea” opened Feb. 25 and will be on display through April 24. For more information about the exhibition, visit www.beachesmuseum.org.
Performances are March 11 and 12, 17-20, and 24-26 at 8 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. General admission tickets for all performances are $23; $20 for students, seniors and military. Thursday student nights offer half price admission with a valid student ID. Three shows remain for this season’s performances: a political drama “All the Way” (April 22-May 7), a family-friendly comedy “Shipwrecked! An Entertainment” (June 3-18), and a musical “Memphis” (July 22-Aug. 13).
For more information or to purchase tickets, call (904) 249-0289 or visit www.playersbythesea.org.
