The romantic comedy “Almost, Maine” by American actor and playwright John Cariani runs May 22 – June 6 for eight performances on stage with the Santa Clara Players.

“Almost, Maine” is set in a fictional, rural northeastern U.S. town so far north that it is almost in Canada. In nine vignettes, all set on the same cold winter’s night—with the Northern Lights illuminating the sky, mystical things happen to the town residents as they fall in and out of love and in again.

The diverse Bay Area cast of ten plus two directors are all in love with Cariani’s first play and predict that audiences will love it, too.

“People should come to see ‘Almost, Maine’ if they want to add just a dash of hope, love and magic to their lives,” said show Director Patrick Idleman, a veteran actor and director with the nonprofit community theater, founded in 1962. 

As Assistant Director Lauren D’Ambrosio—with more than 15 years of local theater experience—pointed out, love stories have universal appeal.

“‘Almost, Maine’ is about love beginning, enduring, not enduring, and changing over time,” said D’Ambrosio, calling it a favorite play.

“Love is a many-splendored thing and a many-layered thing and can spark between any two people—even strangers. Under the supernatural effects of the Aurora Borealis, all expectations can be put aside.”

Idleman explained that the biggest challenge with a large cast was coordinating personal schedules with rehearsal times, including bringing in a fight choreographer and an intimacy coordinator.

Sara Trupski plays two characters—Rhonda, who is uncomfortable with physical affection, and Lendall, who has a troubled relationship with their long-time girlfriend.

“There are parts of me in both characters. And parts of both characters that are completely new to me,” said Trupski. “It’s fun to get to know them and bring them to life onstage in a way that, hopefully, others can relate to.

“I’m so excited to share this play with the community! ‘Almost Maine’ is one of my favorite plays. I hope audiences will love it as much as I do.”

In her SC Players debut, Kyrie Timbrook also plays two characters—Marvalyn, a boarding house tenant, and Marci, a wife trying to reignite a spark in her marriage.

“I’m more comfortable performing in musicals, where I can hide behind a layer of music and choreography,” said Timbrook. “This is my first straight play I’ve performed since high school (over 20 years ago). To me, it feels very vulnerable to be acting not just in two-person scenes, but also in such an intimate venue.”

Debuting in 2004 in Portland, Maine, and updated in 2014, “Almost, Maine” is the most well-known of Cariani’s plays. It has been translated into more than a dozen languages and produced more than 6,000 times worldwide.

“‘Almost, Maine’ juxtaposes the surreal and the mundane … It is a place and a show where metaphor becomes reality and somehow sacrifices neither reality’s grit nor metaphor’s romanticism,” said Idleman.

Visit the Santa Clara Players online or call (408) 248-7993 for tickets in the 71-seat Hall Pavilion (behind Santa Clara’s Triton Museum of Art), 1750 Don Avenue at Warburton Avenue.

“‘Almost Maine’” has a bit of everything—comedy, tragedy, drama, truth, satire, surrealism, and even a bit of magic. But at its core, it is a play about love,” said Trupski. “And there’s always room for more love in the world.”

Related Post:
Santa Clara Players Reprises a Neil Simon Classic—“Barefoot in the Park”