“Almost Maine” Review

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Assistant directors, Will Hollerung and Ryan Schiman, take a bow after a well executed play. Hollerung and Schiman also played roles within the play on closing night. (Photo courtesy of Drew Walczyk.)

Leesville’s theater department debuted their Valentine day production “Almost, Maine” February 15 in the Leesville Auditorium. The play consisted of nine short skits encompassing the love life of nine different couples. The play contained two acts, split by a 10-minute intermission, and was directed by Will Hollerung and Ryan Schiman.

The Prologue consisted of Ben van Welzen, who performed Pete, and Janie Chamberlin, who played Ginette. This skit gave the awkward first date kind of feel and was the only skit that was revisited throughout the production. It concluded with a heartwarming ending as Ginette traveled around the whole world just to become closer to Pete and express her love for him.

Luca Menozzi and Allyson Gee tackled the next skit “Her Heart.” This was a funny yet random scene as Menozzi’s character expressed his love to Gee’s who was a complete stranger standing in his yard in the middle of the night.

Skits “Sad and Glad” and “Where It Went” both were more heartbreaking and dramatic. “Sad and Glad” was played by Noah Czajkowski, Katherine Magee, and Jaden Flagg and actually ended with a happy hooray moment. David Robinson and Glenna Durbin took on the leads of “Where It Went” which portrayed the sad ending of a once happy marriage.

“This Hurts,” “They Fell,” and “Seeing the Thing” were all hilarious comedies of two people expressing their love for one another. Jack Nolan and Lanie Martin played the roles of two characters that experienced an array of physical and mental pain, as Nolan’s character tried to figure out what causes pain versus what to fear in “This Hurts.” A pair of best friends, Randy and Chad played respectively by Brock Johnson and Matthew Mugeni, literally fell for each other as they endured the hardships of life together. The final comedy, “Seeing the Thing” played by Jake Jeffers and Hannah Harmon, contained some dark humor as they hilariously and ridiculously stripped an endless amount of layers preparing for… let’s just say a Rated-R activity.

The other two skits “Story of Hope” and “Getting It Back” had some comical elements but remained more along a serious note. “Story of Hope” performed by Ryan Schiman and Alex Aldrich revolved around a couple that once was. Garrett Noga and Erika Youman starred in what was a very heartwarming skit, “Getting It Back,” where a couple on the verge of a breakup prevailed and ended up getting engaged.

Even though so different, all the skits were connected together for they were set in the small town of Almost in Maine – characters from one skit referenced one’s from others and so forth. Each skit also contained comedy, at least one red item, and the same plaid scarf. The overall production of Almost Maine was fantastic and lived up to well reputable Leesville theater department. Make sure to go see the next school performance, ITS Festival showcase, on March 21.

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