Middlebury Community Players Present John Cariani's ALMOST, MAINE, Now thru 5/3

Close your eyes and think of love, romance and magic. What do you picture? A stroll along the Seine? A gondola ride through Venice? How about a park bench in a small mill town in Maine? It's true you may not see the romantic side at first-after all, this is New England and we don't wear our hearts on our sleeves here-but the longer you stay, the more you'll discover how each resident of this tiny town is searching for love in his or her own special way.

John Cariani's play, ALMOST, MAINE, about the search for love in a small New England town, has been delighting audiences all across New England since it premiered in Portland in 2004. Its Off-Broadway premiere in 2006 convinced Manhattan that amour is alive and well to their north. Middlebury Community Players will present the first Middlebury production of the play tonight, May 1 through Sunday, May 4 at Town Hall Theater.

The play uses nine interlocking stories of the quest for romance to create a town where love can make anything happen, even if it occasionally has to bend the laws of physics. The stories are alternately hilarious, charming, touching, clever, and poignant.

The ensemble cast includes Elizabeth Maher, Mark Zelis, Jennifer Wagner, Adam Ginsburg, Tracy Corbett, Nolan Ellsworth, Leif Erickson, Stephanie Gallas, Dora Greven, Tom Hughes, Megan Kelley, Ark Lemal, Tomas McElhaney, Cody McGlashan, Valerie Smith-Hastings, Dutton Smith Jr., Kathleen Smith, Sarah Stone, and Kathleen Walls. Direction is by Kevin Commins, Mary Longey is the producer, and Piper Patterson and Emily Stone are stage managers.

Performances of ALMOST, MAINE at Town Hall Theater are on Thursday - Saturday, May 1 - 3 at 8:00 p.m., with a matinee on Sunday, May 4 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets $17, may be purchased at the Town Hall Theater Box Office, 802-382-9222 or www.townhalltheater.org.

Photo credit: Max Kraus