It’s hard not to warm up to “Almost, Maine,” an endearing romantic comedy being presented by interACT Theatre Productions three weekends in March.
Christine Gaden directs for interACT, South Orange’s theatre of the community, which presents its plays in the blackbox Baird Theatre, 5 Mead St., South Orange.
“Almost, Maine” is a play by John Cariani, comprising nine short plays that explore love and loss in a remote, mythical almost-town called Almost, Maine. Performances will be 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, March 6-7, 13-14, 20-21 and 4 p.m. Sundays March 8, 15, 22.
Gaden has directed past productions for interACT, including the Oscar Wilde classic “The Importance of Being Earnest,” which was recognized by the state’s community theatre association with six Perry Award nominations.
“What I try to strive for in the shows I direct is to focus on the humanity of the characters,” said Gaden in an interview between rehearsals.
The cast includes Alex Underwood, Ann Alfano, Billy Berger-Bailey, Briana Burnside, Erik Gaden, Jess Emerson, John Olsen, Kate Soriano, Kate Pfuhler, Pamela Rasin, Sabrina Santoro, Scott Lind, and Tasha Williams.
The play dramatizes a moonless night in the middle of winter. All is not quite what it seems in the remote, mythical town of Almost, Maine. As the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, Almost’s residents find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and often hilarious ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. But the bruises heal, and the hearts mend—almost—in this delightful midwinter night’s dream.
“There is a lot of humor in the show as it stands, but I do feel like a lot of people go to farce for the sake of comedy and don’t realize these are real people in real situations,” Gaden said. “I strive to dig deeper and hopefully find subtleties in the script that other productions may not have picked up or focused on before.”
The play is brought in part to interACT through the generosity of Jim and Jan Pini.
Purchase tickets here. Adults online, $16, Student/Senior online, $13. All tickets at the door, $20.
