Almost, Maine
at Riverside High School

Reviewed on November 23, 2019

Addie Winger
Loudoun Valley High School
Submitted for publication to Cappies News

Maine may be cold but Riverside High School's production of Almost, Maine will warm your heart. An adorably awkward story of love and loss, Almost, Maine will make you laugh, cry, and fall in love with each of the charming characters.

Surpassing William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream for the title of most produced play in North American high schools, John Cariani's Almost, Maine is beloved by many. In 2004 the show premiered at the Portland Stage Company in Portland, Maine and later opened off-Broadway in 2006. The play follows nine simultaneous storylines as they explore love in the fictional town (but not quite a town) of Almost, Maine.

Although traditionally a scene between two men, "They Fell" was beautifully executed with a lesbian twist. Best Friends Shelly (Alexandra Lopez) and Deena (Autumn Anderson) begin to realize their perfect match may have been right there the whole time as they start to fall for each other. Literally. Anderson and Lopez's awkward silence captured the cumbersome reality of confessing your love to your best friend.

Michael James Lawless's depiction of Steve's naive nature and quirky mannerisms created an endearing character. Lawless's energy and eagerness to take a beating had the audience wincing as he was repeatedly whacked with an ironing board.

A dramatic shift from the previous vignettes, "Where it Went" told a story of love coming to an end. From lovers to strangers, Marci (Cammie Jackson) and Phil (Brady Rufo) finally revealed their true feelings (or lack thereof) for each other. Jackson's emotion seeped into the audience as she slammed her ring down and stormed off stage, leaving her husband behind. Rufo and Jackson's onstage chemistry produced a dynamic scene of not only anger, but of a couple who had once loved each other.

Rhonda (Megan Hoehn) and Dave's (Nahir Kandarpa) provided impeccable comedic relief as they tore layer after layer of their winter clothes off in a moment of passion. Hoehn's portrayal of the naive tom boy who simply could not see what was right in front of her was delightfully frustrating.

Throughout the show red consistently served as a symbol for love within the costumes designed by Rachel Bunch and Caitlin Pancia. In the scene "Seeing the Thing" Rhonda's red gloved hands were constantly hidden in her pockets. However, once she had accepted her romance with Dave, she stripped to reveal a vibrant red shirt, simply hidden underneath her many layers. In contrast, the scene "Where it Went" featured both Marci and Phil in colorless clothing: their absence of red representing the lack of love.

The simplistic set, designed by Jackson Anderson, managed to make the room feel chilly. The stage, framed with glowing Edison bulbs and white tulle produced a rustic, snow kissed effect. Dressed in winter coats and boots, the run crew blended in with the atmosphere of the show allowing smooth transitions.

A surreal romantic comedy that is sure to tug on your heartstrings, Riverside High School's production of Almost, Maine is worth the hike; even if you must take a taxicab 163 miles.

Maddy Wade
Loudoun Valley High School
Submitted for publication to Cappies News 2

Is it true that love is all you need? Well, almost. Add a cast of adept actors, cozy tech elements and a dash of humor, and you'll have everything you need for Riverside High School's artful production of Almost, Maine.

Written by John Cariani, this show has become a beau of high school theatre in recent years. Though met without charity in its one-month Off-Broadway run, in the past year it has been produced more than any other play in North American high schools (Playbill). This is likely due to the show's minimalistic nature, and its ability to showcase numerous actors.

Almost, Maine is a collage of absurd and wonderful vignettes featuring unconventional characters and deep hitting truths that tug on heartstrings. One chilly winter night in northern Maine we peek into the lives of nine couples in varying stages of love and loss.

In a small town like Almost there's nothing to do on a Friday night but ski, drink or ice skate. We find young married couple, Phil and Marci, fresh off the ice in a heated argument. Cammie Jackson as Marci drew in the audience with her emotional intensity and focused stage presence. Her desperate attempts to connect with her husband and gut-wrenching admonition that she's trapped in loneliness chilled the audience.

Back in town, Steve (Michael James Lawless) thought he would always be alone because he has "a lot of deficiencies and not very many capacities." That is, until he meets Marvalyn (Lauren Price). Lawless and Price collaborated to bring a uniquely humorous performance. Lawless's consistency within his peculiar demeanor contrasting with Price's authentic character decisions evoked endearment and interest from the audience.

As they closed out the show, Megan Hoehn (Rhonda) and Nihar Kandarpa (Dave) brought elastic energy and undeniable chemistry to their scene. They displayed impressive maturity with their ability to balance the significance of vulnerability with the awkwardness of new love.

Jackson Anderson's set design sheltered each scene perfectly. The low white platforms simulated a charming snowbank and sheets of tulle illuminated by Edison light bulbs hinted at the Northern Lights. Costume Designers Rachel Bunch and Caitlin Pancia bundled up each actor in layer after layer of coats, socks, boots, hats, and scarves to remind the audience of the frigid locale, and carefully incorporated bright red into the costumes to symbolize attraction between characters. The run crew similarly donned plaid shirts and snow boots to match the actors and swiftly change the set.

Riverside's touching performance demonstrated the immense power of love. The moonless night in Maine helped us empathize and be thankful- reminding each of us to hold our loved ones a little closer this holiday season.

Leilani Meyers
Northwest High School
Submitted for publication to Patch.com

Riverside High School's production of Almost, Maine was a heartwarming comedy that traversed the different ways love can take shape, even in the smallest of towns.

Almost, Maine is a play comprised of nine vignettes that take place in the isolated town of Almost, Maine, each story with a unique take on the impact of love on the characters' lives. It premiered in Portland Maine in 2004 at the Portland Stage Company.

Nine different couples (or soon-to-be couples) have conversations about love that drastically change their relationships and their understanding of what love is.

This show explored how unexpected and spontaneous love can be with an impressive amount of realism. The show was awkward and raw, and feelings evoked by the actors truly resonated with the entire audience. The chemistry between the actors was truthful and felt natural, and this made for characters that were all developed thoroughly despite only being in short scenes.

Pete (Blake Holloway) played an innocent and sweet nerd who was unsure of how to love his girlfriend with a great tempo that built tension with excellent use of pauses and silence.

Steve's (Michael James Lawless) neurotic and blunt character was lovable and pitiful in all aspects. His tenant, Marvalyn (Lauren Price), a no-nonsense girl stuck in an abusive relationship, flawlessly embodied someone who wished to escape the pains of life.

The colorful shift of lights on the plain backdrop of the stage beautifully blended to create Aurora Borealis. The use of Edison bulbs created a warmth on the stage that perfectly fit the ambiance of the show. Jackson Anderson, Alex Footen, and Ryder Quiggle's magnificent lighting of the stage kindled a sort of warmth.

The costumes created by Caitlin Pancia and Rachel Bunch practically enhanced the cold climate.

The white platforms covered in lifelike snow on stage blended perfectly to create the snow-covered terrain of Maine, and snow-capped pine trees brought together the sets created by Jackson Anderson. The bench was used in several scenes to bring characters close together. It was an integral part of the setting used to drive the story forward.

The props made by CJ Spring, Allison Parrish, and Madelyn Johnson seamlessly blended into the scenes without skipping a beat. Pete seemingly balled up snow into a perfect snowball out of a mound of snow. The simplistic nature of props was well thought out, and they were used sparingly to allow the focus to remain on the actors.

The use of a cohesive color palette that incorporated the color red into all of the scenes wove the anthology of stories together while symbolizing love abstractly.

All in all, Almost, Maine was breathtaking in its interpretation of what love should and can be.

Katia Ramirez
Mount Vernon High School
Submitted for publication to Loudoun Now

Love: probably the most annoyingly complicated yet magical thing in the world. In Riverside High School's production of Almost, Maine, a series of beautiful love stories lighten the hearts of the audience.

Written by John Cariani, Almost, Maine tells nine stories of love gained and love lost in a mystical fashion that occur simultaneously. All of the stories are set in a fictional place in Maine named Almost. The area isn't systematic enough to be a town yet it's too populated to be considered uncultivated. Similar to the area's indecisiveness to be a town, the stories endings vary from happy to sad and bittersweet.

Hope (Madison Chase), a girl returning to her hometown to finally answer a marriage proposal finds that her ex has greatly changed. Chase authentically displays her enthusiasm when she waits at the door to see her old lover and then her disappointment & sadness when she learns that it is too late to give him an answer. Daniel (Aidan Fox) at first pretends that he isn't who Hope is looking for because he has moved on and is very hurt after not receiving an answer as promised. Fox plays the character wonderfully by evolving from a sleepy confused stranger to an ex looking for reconciliation. He manages to maintain a dry humor inducing character as well. Sadly, Hope and Daniel's paths have strayed too far from one another and do not reunite.

Rhonda (Megan Hoehn), a rad, tomboy who is new to love is played fantastically. Hoehn maintained her character's physicality and casual dialect in an extremely realistic way as her character's emotions and motives changed. She also had great chemistry with her love interest, Dave. Their love together seemed genuine and not unrealistically awkward. Dave (Nihar Kandarpa) tries to make Rhonda realize that he likes her and hopes that they can be together. Kandarpa played his grounded, logical but silly character very well and played off of Hoehn marvelously. Hoehn and Kandarpa made a hilariously cute couple and seemed very comfortable with each other which was a breath of fresh air.

Establishing a midwinter setting, the set (designed and built by Jackson Anderson and the RVHS Set and Design & Construction Crews) was beautifully built. Snowy fir trees created a festive mood and the different levels of the set were perfect vignettes for each of the stories. In addition, the white fabric hanging from the top of the stage added to the mystical tone of the set.

The props (by CJ Spring, Allison Parrish, Madelyn Johnson and the RVHS Crew) were extremely well done. The snowballs were very realistic and ingeniously created with shaved wax that was glued to foam balls for texture. The balls blended in perfectly with the artificial snow on the stage. So much so that when a character picked up a ball it appeared as though he had created it out of the snow. Steve's notebook was also a standout prop that was amazingly detailed. I especially appreciated the fact that the actor who played the owner of the notebook (Michael James Lawless) filled it with things he thought his character would have in it.

By showing us the different forms love can take on, Riverside High School's production of Almost, Maine shows us that there is no "right way" to love. In its simplest terms, to borrow a phrase from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Almost, Maine demonstrates how love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love . . .

Leecy Silk
Dominion High School
Submitted for publication to Loudoun Times-Mirror

Where are we? Almost. Riverside High School put Almost, Maine on the map with their production of Almost, Maine. The show, written by John Cariani, is a series of vignettes, all displaying a different situation of love. The emotional play originated Off-Broadway in 2006 and has been gracing high school stages ever since. Riverside High School took us all to the cold, snowy setting of Almost, Maine, made us laugh and cry, before we took a taxi back to reality.

The entire show was fused together by a simplistic set, themed costumes, and powerful performances. The touches of red in each scene, the detailed props, brought together by the actors on a snowy stage touched the hearts of the audience, making everyone feel welcome and warm.

The show was brought together through three continuous scenes, showing Ginette and Pete played by Sophia Grado and Blake Holloway respectively. Holloway and Grado's line delivery had the audience "aw"-ing and giggling their hearts out. The ability of these two actors to sit in silence on stage spoke louder than their lines. The progression through their three scenes culminated with a touching, silent moment that closed the show with a beautiful image of what love can mean to a person.

The supporting actors made this show as moving as it was. Outstanding performers included Michael James Lawless, Gabriella David, Cammie Jackson, Megan Hoehn, and Nihar Kandarpa, just to name a few. Lawless moved audiences to laughter and tears with his unique portrayal of an innocent. David took the audience with her on her character's journey to discover love in its most abundant form. Jackson had complete control over the audience in her scene with Brady Rufo, leaving the audience close to tears. Megan Hoehn and Nihar Kandarpa worked off of each other beautifully to create a funny, endearing scene about a blossoming love. Hoehn and Kandarpa had fantastic line delivery and undeniable chemistry that progressed with the transformation of Hoehn's character throughout the scene, contrasting with Kandarpa's constant openness and vulnerability, wearing his heart on his sleeve (or should we say his vest). Each pair had strong performances that moved the audience in every which way, from hope, to love, to heart-break.

A large part of what made this show so moving was the symbolism in the costumes (Caitlin Pancia, Rachel Bunch). They did much more than provide an understanding of the setting. The detail in the colors of the costumes made this show much more powerful in its message of love. The scenes of heart-break lacked altogether the presence of red, while the characters who were open about their love had red very present. Other characters who had a hesitant love had red in places that could be hidden or revealed, depending on the actors' mannerisms. The thoughtfulness of these colors in the costumes made the show that much more moving, also providing hints to audience right away about each character in each scene. Kudos, too, must be given to the props team (CJ Spring, Allison Parrish, Madelyn Johnson) who sneaked a snowball into a pile of snow, creating the effect of the creation of the snowball seamless. Touches like a fire pit and beer bottles also greatly benefited the production.

Riverside High School took the audience on a journey, not just to Almost, Maine, but on a roller coaster of emotions that were portrayed so well that the audience felt them in their hearts. From break-ups, to moving on, to a couple's first tender moments together, Almost, Maine is now on the map at Riverside High School.