Warm as a steaming cup of cocoa, quirky as those maple sugar candies shaped like moose and romantic as a quiet night beneath a blanket of stars, John Cariani's adorable and gentle comedy, Almost, Maine is enough to make a jaded city boy want to ditch the cocktail crowd and hibernate a few months in a cabin by a frozen lake among locals who dress for comfort and have never heard of Chita Rivera. Almost.
It's date night in the little township of Almost, situated in the uppermost reaches of Maine. Maybe it's the Northern Lights working their magic, but love is sweeping the moose country on this particularly starry Friday evening. But it isn't the sentimental sweep of romance and poetry that's infected the Mainers. No, Cariani's lovers speak plainly. Sometimes not at all. This is love as a simple, happy fact of life.
In two acts of unconnected scenes, the talented and versatile foursome of Todd Cerveris, Justin Hagan, Miriam Shor and Finnerty Steeves play a variety of couples who take everyday phrases like "falling in love", "giving my love" and "broken heart" quite seriously and, in some very odd moments, quite literally. I have no clever lines to quote for you because every laugh is so deeply rooted in the characters and situations. (This is Maine, after all. There's a reason why the Algonquin Round Table wasn't started at a diner in Bangor.) The set-ups of the scenes might seem a bit familiar if I tried to describe them here (a guy in a bar runs into his ex the night before her wedding, a biker who has never considered herself attractive freaks out when her buddy wants to take their relationship to the next level, a couple mourns the loss of romance in their marriage...) but the author twists each scene with a little magic; sometimes it's an inexplicable event, sometimes it's an well-timed coincidence, and sometimes a misspelled word can lead the way to true love.
Between scenes, Colleen Quinian and Patrick Noonan play out their own romantic escapades as the silent and barely seen pair performing set changes.
Even when the script creeps into zany territory (I don't want to give away any surprises) director Gabriel Barre guides with a light, realistic touch. Silences are quite golden in this production. James Youman's set and Jeff Croiter's lights provide a graceful setting of snow drifts and brilliant skies. And the cast looks cute and cozy in Pamela Scofield's flannels and overcoats.
This is a comedy that will make you smile more than it will make you laugh. While leaving the theatre, and at intermission, I noticed several couples holding hands and stealing smooches. Looks like Almost, Maine might be giving jaded New Yorkers a welcome case of the warm fuzzies this winter.
Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: Todd Ceveris and Finnerty Steeves
Bottom: Justin Hagan and Miriam Shor
