The Blue & White

By Chloe Cochrane

Methuen High School’s theater program, also known as Stage Door 22, put on a production of the play Almost, Maine for this year’s annual fall play. Almost, Maine is a play featuring a series of 9 vignettes– brief accounts or tellings– centric around the themes of love and loss. These vignettes are connected by their setting; they all take place in the ‘almost-town’ of Almost, Maine. 

The play was written by John Cariani, a well-known actor and playwright, who wrote the play based on his own experiences growing up in northern Maine. Cariani, when discussing the play, states that Almost, Maine is “a play about real people who are really, truly, honestly dealing with the toughest thing there is to deal with in life: love.” Methuen High School’s theater department did an amazing job capturing the ideas that Cariani wrote into this play, actors and crew members alike.

The play begins with the prologue, a scene featuring two characters; Ginette and Pete. In MHS’ production, Pete is played by junior Charlie Trussell, while Ginette is played by junior Emi Grondine. They sit on a bench, staring at the starry sky, when Ginette professes her love to Pete. He loves her too. Ginette tells Pete that she wants to be as close to him- as close as possible. While she scooches up next to Pete, Pete innocently explains to Ginette that since the Earth is round, she’s actually not close to him at all. She’s as far away as she can be. Ginette is hurt by this, seemingly- she runs off stage, leaving Pete alone, as he states she’s getting closer and closer. He soon realizes that she has left him. The scene ends.

Scene one, a separate story entitled “Her Heart” features actors Riley Lyons and Doro Cesar, portraying the characters East and Glory. Glory is a tourist who comes to Maine in hopes of seeing the esteemed northern lights, and she ends up in the “town” of Almost. She sets up camp in East’s front yard, and is outside looking for the lights when East comes out to ask what she’s doing in his yard. She explains her story and introduces herself. East is enraptured and kisses her– surprising even himself– and Glory almost leaves. East gets her to stay, and she explains that she was hoping to say goodbye to her deceased husband, finding him in the Northern Lights. He broke her heart before he died, and she carries the remains of it in a paper bag, which she’s been carrying the whole conversation to keep herself alive. East talks her through her husband’s death and eases some of her guilt. He explains that he’s a repairman. He takes her heart in his hands; he can fix it. You can see the Northern Lights.

“Sad and Glad” is the second scene of Almost, Maine. This scene features the actors Malakai Denault as Jimmy, Isabella Cerbone as Sandrine, and Katie Merino as Villian. Jimmy and Sandrine are an ex-couple who had broken up recently and they find each other again in Almost’s bar, Moose Paddy. Sandrine is waiting for the bathroom when Jimmy calls her over and starts trying to win her back. Sandrine explains that she’s there for her bachelorette party; she’s getting married the next day. Jimmy is incredibly disappointed. It is revealed that after the two broke up, Jimmy got a tattoo of the word ‘villian’- an unfortunate misspelling of the word ‘villain’ because of the guilt and regret that lingered in his heart. It gets more uncomfortable between the two, so Jimmy tries to call the waiter over for drinks to celebrate Sandrine’s wedding. Sandrine leaves before the waiter comes over, and Jimmy is left to wallow in her wake. The waiter finally shows up, and we discover that her name is Villian. Jimmy is given hope after all the pain- and they hit it off. 

Scene three, “This Hurts”, features Jacey Cripps and Alejandro Javier Roche, portraying the characters Marvalyn and Steve. This scene takes place in an apartment laundry room, and begins with Marvalyn accidentally hitting Steve with an ironing board. Strangely, as Marvalyn begins apologizing profusely, Steve doesn’t react. It is learned that Steve doesn’t feel pain due to a condition known as congenital analgesia. Steve carries around a notebook so he can be aware of what to be afraid of with the help of his brother. This concerns Marvalyn, who tells Steve that she thinks his brother is controlling him. Steve takes this to heart and talks about how he hears Marvalyn and her boyfriend fighting frequently. Amidst this conversation, Marvalyn kisses Steve. They’re both shocked, by kisses and revelations, and the scene ends with Marvalyn again accidentally hitting Steve with the same ironing board. This time, he cries out in pain.

           Proceeding scene three is “Getting it Back” followed by an intermission and then four other scenes- “They Fell”, “Where it Went”, “Story of Hope”, and “Seeing the Thing”, which are more short scenes, some bittersweet and some on the happier side. All of these portray unique tales and numerous different characters played by the talented actors of the MHS theater department- but they all take place in the “town” of Almost. By the end of the play, there’s a newfound appreciation for the place that didn’t seem all that special at first. It houses ordinary people that are just like the ones sitting in the audience. They deal with the same things we do; love, relationships and hardships, family- life. 

          The play ends with the epilogue- a follow up scene to the story of Ginette and Pete, in which Ginette returns to the bench and to Pete. She has seemingly walked all the way around the world, as she comes from the opposite side of the stage where she had left originally. She did this to get as close to Pete as she possibly could.

          If you didn’t get to see MHS’s production of Almost, Maine, I hope you will consider reading the play or watching it elsewhere. It’s a truly beautiful collection and worth your time to enjoy. Make sure you don’t miss out on our school’s next production this spring!