Beginning Friday night at 8 pm on November 4th, Church Hill Threatre will transport audiences to an instant in time in a mythical town. Award-winning actor and playwright John Cariani’s Almost, Maine lays out that instant at exactly 9 p.m. on a wintry Friday night in the remote town of Almost, Maine. As the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, the residents of Almost find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and often hilarious ways. Knees are uised. Hearts are oken. But the uises heal, and the hearts mend — almost, in this delightful midwinter night’s dream.
Michael C. Whitehill closes out CHT’s 2011 season with all of the imagination and intensity audiences have come to relish in his productions as he introduces crowds to 19 residents of Almost, Maine. Each resident experiences crucial moments of choice in relationships with one another. The scenes occur in different locations around the town of Almost, and each has its own crisis, its own emotional temperature, and its own stakes. In each tale, there is an element of wonder. There is love and the lack of it and the continuum between. Like the excitation of ions in the moody and playful Aurora Borealis which sets the backdrop of Almost, the thoughts and feelings of its inhabitants will move in seemingly random trails and swirls. Audiences cannot help but finally recognize their own haphazard paths as each person claims his own private piece of that moment.
Cariani developed Almost, Maine at the Cape Cod Theatre Project and opened the show in 2004 in Portland, Maine where it became the most successful play in Portland Stage’s 32-year history. Following its opening, The Wall Street Journal named Almost one of the best regional theatre productions and has since spread throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, and Germany to eak box office records wherever it is performed.
Whitehill has directed his own image of Almost, Maine which is sure to live up to the hype. Sometimes produced with just four actors playing all 19 roles, he has put together a full cast of character, each claiming his or her own moment on the CHT stage. Peopling Almost are a wonderful mix of veteran and first-time actors to the CHT stage including: Steve Helgesen, Abigail Shaffer, John Haas, Becca Van Aken, Brian Helgesen, Kate Maxwell, Jeanne Wode, Jane Copple, Brandon Walls, Debbie Ebersole, Patrick J. Fee, Erik Murray, Brian Whitaker, Chris Rogers, Jane Terebey, Howard Messick, Karin Larsen, and John Cain.
The production crew is compromised of seasoned CHT experts Laura Kaufmann (Producer/Makeup), Whitehill (Director, Special Effects & Lighting Design, Set Design & Construction ), Doug Kaufmann, (Production Lighting Design and Engineer), Draper (Set Decoration), and Steve Payne (Sound Design and Operator). The visual spectacle that this team creates will have audiences fondly reminiscing about their ief visit to Almost, Maine.
Passports not required—get your tickets to Almost today. Please be sure to make your reservations for this journey into the heart which runs from Friday, November 4th through Sunday, November 20th. Performances begin at 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, 2pm on Sundays. Call the CHT office at 410.758.1331 or make reservations online at http://www.churchhilltheatre.org.
For Press Questions:
CONTACT: AMY MOREDOCK
PHONE: 443.480.1745
EMAIL: agmoredock@hotmail.comr
For Production Questions/Reservations:
CONTACT: CHT BOX OFFICE
PHONE: 410.758.1331
WEBSITE: http://www.churchhilltheatre.org
