"Almost, Maine" back by popular demand

The sometimes ironic, often funny and occasionally touching relationships among a group of characters living in a remote town in Maine so enthusiastically captured the hearts of island theater-goers in March, the Theatre Workshop of Nantucket is restaging the play this month.

"Almost, Maine" was written by John Cariani, who grew up on Presque Isle, Maine where the weather can be brutal and the population — and chances to co-mingle — run to small numbers. "Almost, Maine" is a fictional place but one where love and all its wonders and wacky wranglings occur as often and dramatically as in any real town, anywhere.

"It was popular," said Jane Karakula, who is directing the play again in this second round. "I think the bottom line is that the play is about love — the beginning of love, the middle of love and the end of love. It is a topic we never tire of."

Karakula has cast many of the same actors who were

in the March performance along with some newer faces PHOTOS COURTESY TWN to portray the various 19 men and women either rapturously in love or healing from the wounds of the lovelorn. The cast, working through eight vignettes that last about 15 minutes each and are sandwiched between a prologue, interlogue and epilogue, includes Peter Arsenault, Janet Forest, Gabrielle Gould, Laurie Koppleman, Jessica Manning, Kevin Mohler, Pam Murphy, Adam Noonan, Ernest Palmer, Laurie Richards and Chris Witte.

The stories occur simultaneously on a bitter winter Friday night. Some examine quirky twists such as the fellow who unexpectedly meets up with his former sweetheart the evening before her wedding day, and the couples who try but fail to end their relationships while others cling poignantly to a fizzled romance.

"Almost, Maine" was first brought to the stage in 2002 by The Cape Cod Theater Project and had its world premiere in 2004 in a performance by The Portland Stage Company where the seats in their Maine venue sold out and Cariani's work drew

critical acclaim. The Wall Street Journal

and American National Theatre both praised the play, which went on to an off-Broadway opening in the winter of 2005.

"Almost, Maine" has its first curtain Sept. 16 at 8:30 p.m. The play runs through Oct. 3 downstairs at the Methodist Church. Thursday night curtains rise at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25. A Sunday, Sept. 20 matinee at 3 p.m. is free for seniors and students. I