Love is a concept that storytellers across all platforms have sought to encapsulate since civilization began.
The Evergreen Playhouse’s third show of the 2023-24 season, “Almost, Maine,” continues that storytelling tradition, presenting audiences with a series of vignettes about a variety of couples drenched in magical realism.
“It really gives us this visceral, real experience to something that feels metaphorical,” “Almost, Maine” director Cass Manalastas said of the show.
Manalastas has been a freelance artist and director since 2013, starting her career in the Philippines and doing shows on and off until she moved to the U.S. for graduate school in 2015.
“I kind of took a break from directing, but now I’m pretty much back in the game and started back in the theater scene,” Manalastas said.
While the show itself runs about two hours, the disconnected scenes all take place within the same 10 minutes, with a variety of ordinary people experiencing individual expressions of love under the Northern Lights in different parts of the fictional territory of Almost, Maine.
“I think especially when it comes to love and magic, we often see it as a very romantic experience. But what I like about this one is that, it’s not sort of this cheesy, sentimental kind of love, but … (it’s) all of it, like the exciting parts, the scary parts, the ins and outs of it,” she said.
A small cast of eight play all the characters in the show, with each actor taking up multiple roles.
“The actors worked really hard on fleshing out these amazing relationships … it’s really sort of the relationships between the actors that make it come to life, so I’m really excited about that, that folks will see the acting chops of these people,” Manalastas said.
Performances will take place from Friday, Jan. 19 through Sunday, Feb.4. The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays.
A special pay-what-you can performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25.
Tickets cost $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors.
Purchase tickets ahead of time at https://evergreenplayhouse.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the door.
Cast list
Ginette/Waitress/Deena: Lizzie Conner
Pete/Steve: Austin Bennett
Glory/Hope: Emilie Brown
East/Randy/Phil: Jed Slaughter
Jimmy/Chad/Dave: Matthew Michael
Sandrine/Gayle/Marci: Brenda Crummett
Marvalyn/Shelly/Rhonda: Sarah Amador
Lendall/Man: Larry Morton
