MSU Theatre presents ‘Almost, Maine’
Morehead State University's Department of Music, Theatre and Dance continues its 2021-22 theatrical season with a student-directed production of John Cariani’s "Almost, Maine."
The play takes place at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, Feb. 17-19 and Feb. 24-26. There are matinee performances at 2 p.m. Sundays, Feb. 20 and 27. All performances are in the Lucille Caudill Little (LCL) Theatre in Breckinridge Hall.
A series of vignettes focus on one of America’s northernmost not-quite-towns called Almost, Maine. Here, strange surreal events are happening to its residents fueled by the aurora borealis phenomenon in the sky. These surreal experiences lead to the location’s residents connecting, coupling up and disbanding in ways romantic, comical or a combination of the two.
Olive Maines, a senior theatre major from Mt. Sterling, is the student-director of the production. She said that because of repeated bouts of winter weather, the students have had to put the production together in a shorter amount of time than normal. She said in addition to rising to the challenge of producing the show on a shorter timeframe, Maines has been continually impressed by the quality of the students’ work, whether it in set design, lighting design or the work by the actors on stage.
“‘Almost, Maine’ deals with a lot of big emotions and I know sometimes near the beginning of our rehearsal process, it was hard to either get into those scenes or get out of the mindset it puts you in during,” Maines said. “My actors can showcase a large range of emotion from the overwhelming feeling of so much love, to losing the love that they thought they would have forever. From my standpoint, the actors cover every emotion portrayed in this show and I think that people seeing this performance will walk away with that in mind.”
Maines said through the course of this production, people will know that almost anything is possible when it comes to love.
“What I hope people walk away from after seeing ‘Almost, Maine’ is the idea that love comes to us in many different forms. It’s a show about receiving, losing and learning to love in its purest forms,” she said. “I hope that people are able to take away that even in situations where it may feel like no one out there sees you for who you are, there’s always someone who does and that someone loves you.”
Tickets are $11 for the general public, $6 for seniors and non-MSU students, and free with ID to MSU students. The MSU Theatre box office is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Morehead State University is committed to the safety and health of our faculty, staff, students and guests. We are following CDC guidance and requiring appropriate spacing and masking when indoors.
Reservations are required for all MSU Theatre productions and can be made by calling 606-783-2170 or emailing mtdboxoffice@moreheadstate.edu.
To learn more about MSU Theatre and view this season’s schedule, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/theatre.
