“Almost, Maine,” a heartwarming and romantic play presented by the Los Medanos Drama department, opened Nov. 9 in the Little Theatre with a noteworthy performance.
While the Little Theatre at LMC truly lives up to its name, it creates an intimate experience for anyone choosing to see any live performance. With “Almost, Maine” being my first, the friendly smiles from the crew and memorable performances from the cast were enough for it to not be my last.
“Almost, Maine” takes place in what is not quite a city and almost a town, and is composed of several vignettes telling different stories of the residents falling in and out of love all on the same night, at the same time. With each story, new characters are revealed, and almost anyone can find a way to relate.
Opening night for any event is an exciting achievement and deserves to be celebrated. While the Little Theatre is small and intimate, I couldn’t help but notice how many seats, especially reserved ones, were empty. But the quantity in a loss of audience members was no match for the quality of the show for the people who did attend.
While each couple in each story had their conflicts to resolve, the audience got to experience the ups and downs of relationships through the cast’s quirky performances. With every heartwarming line and great timing for comedic relief, you could hear the audience’s laughter, ooh’s and aw’s from outside the Little Theatre’s doors, making the whole play experience even more enjoyable.
One thing that captured my attention was the crew’s impeccable timing with its storytelling through lighting alone. With each character’s breakthrough of love, a display of the Northern Lights on the stage floor was present, really capturing the magic of the moment.
What was especially fun to watch was how each actor successfully channeled a new character with each new story. The actors seemed to resonate with every character they played. While new stories are often difficult to get into and new characters take time to get to know, the actors did a remarkable job at making the transition into new vignettes compelling and memorable each time.
The drama department did an excellent job at illustrating the beauty of love and heartbreak and I would highly recommend any student or member of the community to come enjoy the show and support the drama program.
The cast will take the stage for the final performance of “Almost, Maine” Nov. 17 and 18 at 7 p.m.
