Almost, Maine

This past Saturday night Izzy and I met up with a few good friends (@kateeidam, @mikeschwabe, @shoesalwaysfit), and went out for dinner and a show. The show was Almost, Maine at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre's River Street Playhouse. I must say we all enjoyed the show and the evening. If you didn't make it out to see Almost, Maine, I hope you will have a chance to see something by this director or featuring these actors in the future.

Closing night is always a very special night for any production. The actors have had a few runs to get the rhythm of the show under their belt, the lighting and set changes are fluid and easy. Any of the jitters that made opening night especially exciting have mellowed to an intense hum of energy that connects each solidly delivered scene. It’s both a last chance to breathe life into a character and a moment to say goodbye.

This poignant, closing night experience poured into the audience at the last performance of Chagrin Valley Little Theatre (CVLT)’s Almost, Maine. 

A romantic comedy by John Cariani, Almost, Maine asked its audience to suspend reality, well, only a little bit. Once our eyes adjusted to this quiet, remote little town, we could really begin to see the gorgeous Northern Lights that breathe magic into each scene. 

We follow four actors as they portray a variety of characters falling in and out of love, all in the town of Almost, Maine, on a cold winter’s night. Each scene asks the audience to accept a magical element - a broken heart carried in a paper sack, a man who feels no pain and a shoe falling from the sky. 

The success of this show rested on the abilities and flexibility of the actors and actresses who moved in and out of roles. One moment an actress is a gorgeous girl at her bachelorette party and the next she’s a dowdy nursing student doing her laundry in the basement of an apartment building. All of these scenes occur with minimal sets on a mostly bare stage under mystical mood lighting, putting a sharp focus on the acting. 

The actors and actresses in CVLT’s production excelled, bringing a different touch to each of their multiple characters. We never confused Rhonda’s brash innocence with Marci’s cranky melancholy – Maggie Leach played these characters and more brilliantly. Jon Gellot and Chuck Matthews portrayed multiple men falling in and out of love, but none quite so interesting as Chad and Randy who seemed to fall in love with one another (literally). 

Perhaps the most poignant scene was one in which Natalie Dolezal appeared as Hope, a woman who had promised to return by sunrise to respond to her lover’s proposal, but didn’t make it back for years. Of all the actors, Dolezal’s characters all seemed to have nearly the same personality. But the audience didn’t seem to mind, perhaps because her characters possessed a wonderful, ebullient essence that lifted the mood of the entire production. 

All four actors were expertly coached by director, David Malinowski, who created a show with charming and memorable delivery. Malinowski is an avid actor, stage manager and director in Northeast Ohio, and his experience showed on the stage. His clear vision for this production was articulated through scene after scene of emotive, beautiful acting.

The audience laughed, gasped, pondered and felt our hearts lifted and lowered by each of the scenes. With its short run-time, the play had a refreshing crispness that left us wanting more and satisfied all at the same time. I’m sure we will all wonder what happened to some of the characters as we were only given a momentary glimpse into their lives on a cold night in Almost, Maine.

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