Love, amour, distance, commitment, hope, loss, pain
– these are the elements at play in Hudson Theater Ensemble’s charming
production of John Cariani’s “Almost, Maine.”
Set in the not quite a town or on a map area of
Almost, Maine, the show is a series of nine scenes about love. Powered by a charming cast and graceful
direction from Laurie Brongo, the play mixes whimsy, laughter, and heart.
The
offbeat, adorable residents -- fall in and out of love one enchanted Friday
night as the Northern Lights crosses, exchanging unsolicited kisses, awkward
confessions and a yearning for connection. Their brief stories are laced with
magic realism, uncanny coincidences, metaphors taken literally and idioms come
to life. Some work better than
others but all are short and (bitter)sweet. This is a world beyond Tinder, OKCupid, or Match and one
where people carry their broken hearts in bags and deliver bulging sacks of
love.
Cariana’s light touch is evident in scenes like “They
Fell” in which a bromance turns unexpectedly complete with physical falling for
one another. Victor Andres and
Doug Schneider deftly handle the physicality and uncertainty of a new
possibility. A bit more heavy
handed is “Where it Went” which tackles a marriage that goes south despite a
wife (Laura DiCerto) trying to bring romance to the spot of a first kiss.
Victor Andres’ malleable facial expressions capture
a tremendous mix of emotions especially in the prologue and “This Hurts” in
which he plays a main who feels no pain.
The cast of six plays a wide variety of characters
in the town, as well as visitors to it hoping to see the Northern Lights. They adroitly avoid cutesiness or cloying, steering with balance. And the
evening ends with the possibility of seeing the romance before you, accepting,
and emphatically embracing it in a nice turn from actors Steve Yates and
Jessica Sherr.
After a
long winter, a fine spring romance as evoked by the Hudson Theater Ensemble’s
production makes for a pleasant outing.
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