Almost, Maine

On November 20th, 21st, and 22nd at 7:30 pm Madison High School took a trip to the unknown Almost, Maine. This play, written by John Cariani, is broken up into 8 vignettes about love and is full of surprises and symbolism. Directed by Megan Niper and Douglas Oswin, it only featured 17 actors and actresses with 2 stage managers guiding the backstage.

Although this play was small, it really made a big statement about love and how it can surprise you. Some of these messages flew over people’s heads, especially the little kids who I saw in the audience; however, every scene in this play has some sort of message, even though at times it might not have been obvious. The entire set up was great, even though it was very simple. But what was made was made well. The lighting was well done and expressed the proper mood. The costumes and make-up was all very modern which made the play more believable. The sound coming from the characters’ microphones made their voices echo, which I noticed as soon as the play began. The  pianist was very good and played at the appropriate times, even though he kept coughing. And the moments of awkward silence that were in the play, which made the crowd laugh uncomfortably at times, made the play even better.

The audience was very attentive and interested. This play is very different from most and that’s why I think it caught almost everyone’s attention. I brought a 9-year-old girl that I babysit to this play and she loved it. Although some stuff may have been way over her head, she still enjoyed it and I think that definitely says something about how well this play was performed. I can honestly say that I didn’t think any one person performed badly in this production. I do not have any negative things to say about a particular person. This play really caught everyone’s attention and received fantastic feedback from the student body. Congratulations to the cast and crew on a wonderful job!