The play “Almost, Maine” starts with a prologue containing the line, “The farthest away you can be from someone is if you’re sitting right next to them.”
The show is fast-paced yet simple, humorous and heartfelt all at once. It is made up of eleven scenes – eight vignettes as well as a prologue, interlogue, and epilogue – with each of them taking place at the exact same time, in the same town, on the same evening.
Tacoma Little Theatre
Actors Joshua Olver and K Cryer as characters Randy and Chad.
Each scene focuses on two or three characters, showing a moment in time, a point in their relationship and where their love for each other stands. Some are meeting each other for the first time, some are on the verge of ending their relationship, some are starting something new.
The first scene is between a local to the town, East (played by Joshua Oliver) and a woman named Glory (played by Rachel Blackwelder Gardner), who have come up in hopes of seeing the Northern Lights. When Glory asks where exactly they are, East informs her that they’re in Almost, Maine, and it’s not a well enough established town to be found on any map.
In the same way the town that the show is set in only almost exists, the show itself has a somewhat surreal quality to it, at times, when metaphors come in the form of physical manifestations: a literal broken heart, physical bags representing the love which two characters gave to each other over the course of their relationship.
There’s clear intentionality that comes with every prop and set piece put on stage. A door, a bench, a boot: it all somehow matters, and ends up being an important part of the scene. Otherwise, the stage, in a reflection of the play itself, is fairly stripped bare, showcasing that sometimes simplicity can still hold meaningful stories.
The show moves from scene to scene seamlessly, no doubt carried by strong performances by each of the four actors who all take on numerous roles throughout the show. They each have good chemistry with each other and manage to hit all of the emotional and humorous beats well, keeping audiences captivated from beginning to end.
“Almost, Maine” plays for three more weekends at Tacoma Little Theatre, with a Pay What You Can show on May 9 and an ASL Performance on May 12. More information can be found at their website, tacomalittletheatre.com.