A Review of Snohomish Theatre’s Almost Maine
Written by Laurel Peterson, Former Student on Sunday, November 27, 2016
The SHS Theatre club put on an impressive first performance of the year in the form of Almost, Maine on November 17-19, featuring excellent talent from the actors and stage crew alike.
Almost, Maine features nine love stories, all occurring in an unnamed territory of Maine. These brief vignettes follow the interactions of a varied cast of couples whose relationships range from uplifting to devastating.
One of the most heartbreaking stories was tackled by junior Sam Millard as Hope. As her character metaphorically embodies hope, she returns to her hometown after leaving for college without answering a marriage proposal from Daniel Harding, played by freshman Riley O’Shea. This scene was simultaneously optimistic as well as downcast as both actors impressively switched between conflicting emotions, demonstrating a broad range of feeling over the course of only a few minutes.
In a more uplifting storyline about the characters of Steve and Marvalyn, played by freshman Kevin DeFord and senior Jade Graham, showed an instant connection in a first meeting of the laundry-room basement of their apartment building. Steve, a character unable to experience pain, is shocked into feeling after Marvalyn accidentally, and repeatedly, hits him in the head with an ironing board. This charming anecdote was brought to life by DeFord and Graham, who skillfully depicted their quirky characters.
Not all characters were quirky however. Junior Foster John and senior Amber Armstrong portrayed the stereotypical relationship struggle as Lendall and Gayle respectively. They engaged in a number of onstage arguments, but eventually led to a happy ending.
Also engaging in arguments were junior Olivia Acuff and sophomore Jacob Ragland. This pair effectively emphasized the emotional aspect of their segments by arguing about Ragland's forgetting of their anniversary Their scene ended rather abruptly when the literal shoe dropped.
Oppositely, freshman Riley Yeoman, as the character Chad, brought the humor, and alongside junior Max Ellis, who played Randy, provided comic relief by literally falling in love to the sound of roaring laughter from the audience.
The stage crew of Almost, Maine was also no small force, changing sets within seconds for a very fluid transition between the vignettes, as well as dazzling the audience with lighting design and making it snow at the end of the play.
The SHS Theatre club portrayed this satirical and metaphorical picture of love and human emotion in a clever and genuine way. It was a favorite among the audience and an impressive display of talent from all of the actors, leaving the audience in anticipation for their spring musical, "Les Miserables" in 2017.
