On Jan. 18, the Sock n’ Buskin Theatre Company premiered their production of Almost, Maine at the Glebe-St. James United Church. Originally written by actor and playwright John Cariani, the play was directed by third-year Carleton University student Sarah Ashton and saw a full-house attendance.
Almost, Maine is set on a winter’s night in Almost—a small town in the north of Maine. It is a compilation of nine stories that deal with the different aspects of love as experienced by the assortment of characters who come onstage.
The play opened with characters Pete and Ginette, played by Kenneth Oko-Oboh and Grace Smith, respectively, confessing their love for one another. The confession, however, is followed by a strange turn of events. This scene set the tone for the rest of the performance as ‘love’ was portrayed in its rawest form, with all of its trials and tribulations.
Following Pete and Ginette’s opening scene, the audience followed the stories of eight more couples: East and Glory, Jimmy and Sandrine, Steve and Marvalyn, Lendall and Gayle, Deena and Shelly, Phil and Marci, Hope and Danny, and, finally, Dave and Rhonda.
An awkward, loving repairman named East (Kosta Diochnos) encounters a confused and eccentric woman named Glory (Claire Hearn) on his front yard. Revelations about both characters ensued as sadness and empathy filled the air, sprinkled with laughter and smiles among the audience.
Drew Torresan’s Jimmy, however, stole the show in the next scene. His portrayal of Jimmy upon running into his ex-girlfriend Sandrine (Megan Harvey) at a bar, was fantastically tragicomic. His performance is a must-watch as he brought the audience to both roaring laughter and tears of sorrow within a span of minutes.
Steve (Daniel Morakinyo) and Marvalyn (Rachel Stanley) engage in a humorous battle of iron boards and questions in the next scene. In this scene, we saw Marvalyn, who already had a boyfriend, and Steve, who tackled surprises concerning love and pain.
The following scene saw Diochnos once again as he played Lendall, Gayle’s (Emily Poulsen) boyfriend. Emotions ran high as Gayle came home to Lendall, asking him to return all the love she gave him. Poulsen’s Gayle was moving as she pulled the audience’s heartstrings with her tears and frustration conveyed with masterful expression.
In the midst of all this, we saw Oko-Oboh’s Pete once again sitting wistfully at a park bench awaiting Ginette.
The play continued as Harvey and Hearn returned to the stage, this time playing best friends Deena and Shelly, respectively. What started off as a typical rant between two girls struggling with the boy-problems in their lives, ended with a heart-warming surprise and bruised knees.
Smith, who earlier played Ginette, took the stage wearing a red coat and a look of misery as Hope. Hope had returned to Almost in search of Danny, her first love.
Torresan appeared in this scene once again and brought audible gasps to the audience, as shocker followed shocker and sadness.
For the penultimate scene, the audience got to see a refreshingly lighthearted and funny take on newfound love by Morakinyo’s Dave and Poulsen’s Rhonda. Morakinyo’s performance in this scene was stellar as he brought the audience to the floor, rolling in laughter. Poulsen matched his performance with an equally humorous portrayal of Rhonda, an athletic woman with a lack of artistic appreciation.
In the end, the audience saw Pete and Ginette once again. This time, however, they came onto stage with happiness on their faces and love in their hearts.
Old or young, whether you love love or it broke you, there’s something in store for everyone in this production of Almost, Maine.
All of the actors skilfully brought out a farrago of emotions in the audience with their performances, as people left the room that night with knowing smiles on their faces and warmth in their hearts. The efforts and passion of the brilliant cast and crew have definitely paid off.
