Romance is budding in Almost, Maine. A fictional town in Maine finds couples on this cold, winter Friday night falling in and out of love. Almost, Maine is a play by John Cariani. The play was performed by the Public Theater of Kentucky February 9-19. This quaint little play takes place all around the town of Almost, Maine, with the northern light serving as a pretty background to every scene.

The play included nine brief stories, each depicting a short love scene between two people. These tales ranged from couples falling in love, to a couple getting married, and a couple who had broken up seeing each other again.

The play was flawlessly put on, with the actors each giving a convincing performance, truly showing the emotions their character was going through. Solum scenes of love confessions were contrasted with annoyed exchanges between couples. However, these serious scenes were balanced out by humorous jabs delivered smoothly by cast members. The audience laughed and aah-ed as the cast experienced happy moments, but there were also sad exclamations as a character fell out of love and encountered heartache.

Due to the Public Theater of Kentucky being so small, the play had a personal feel to it, as the characters on the stage were so close you felt like you could reach out and touch them. It was easy to see their faces and the emotions the characters went through. Each grin of happiness or grimace of pain could be noticed and felt by the audience, accentuating the skill of the actors. The scenes were simple, with few props, which also helped one to focus on the characters actions and words.

Greenwood graduate, Noah Rudloff, was a member of the cast. His characters were enjoyable and amusing, and he delivered their feelings well. It was nice being able to see a familiar face while watching the play.

My favorite scene began with a woman, Gayle, coming in a demanding back all the love she had given to Lendall, her long time boyfriend. She proceeds to bring in numerous pink bags that are full of the “love” he gave her. He doesn’t understand why all of a sudden she doesn’t want to be with him. When she finally bugs him enough about giving her love back, he goes and brings back a tiny pink bag. She wore a dismayed expression, as she questioned is that all the love she had really given him. As an audience member, I started to wonder if she was the one to blame and that maybe he was the better man for putting up with her. As she only became more upset,  he tells her that the love she gave him is now in a different form, a ring. He said he hadn’t known what to do with all her love so he used it to buy a ring. Lyndall goes on to propose to her and she happily accepts.

The next performance for the Public Theater of Kentucky will be the world premiere of “Stages of Bloom”, the original script by Liz Fentress. The play will run March 16-19. This play will focus on an elder lady, who is being pressured to sell her house. Surrounded by friends and family on a Friday night, she tries to put together an entry for her last rose show. By Sunday, they have all learned something about each other, and are able to celebrate their own “stages of bloom”.

Come out and support PTK, in what is sure to be a cute and charming tale.