Almost. Right Here, Right Now

Almost, Maine — Riverside Theatre | March 24 – April 12

There is a town in northern Maine that doesn't quite exist. It never got around to being officially organized. Never made it onto any map. It sits so far north it's almost in Canada...almost, but not quite. Just Almost.

That word "Almost," is doing a lot of work in this production. Because we all live there. Almost told someone we loved them. Almost stayed. Almost left. Almost picked up the phone. That one person you think about sometimes when it's quiet that you almost said the thing that needed to e said, but didn't, and life went on

Playwright John Cariani grew up in Presque Isle, Maine, and, because he was born just outside the state, his friends always called him "almost a Mainer." So he wrote a play about almost. Nine love stories. One cold Friday night. One small town lit up by the northern lights. Knees get bruised. Hearts crack open. Someone says the thing they should have said years ago. Someone doesn't. You will recognize every single one of them, whether in your marriage, your past, your grown children, your parents, yourself at 22 sitting in a car not knowing what to do next.

Cariani is no amateur dreamer who got lucky. He earned a Tony nomination, Outer Critics Circle Awards, Grammy nominations, a Daytime Emmy, originating roles in some of the most celebrated musicals of the last two decades. He is the real deal. And Almost, Maine, written before all of it, may be what he is remembered for most. Nearly 6,000 productions worldwide. It has quietly surpassed A Midsummer Night's Dream as one of the most produced plays in America, and not because teachers assign it, but because audiences keep coming back. Because it keeps ringing true. You will laugh. You will go quiet at least once. You may reach for the hand of whoever is sitting next to you.

If you saw Jesus Christ Superstar close out its run on the Riverside stage this past weekend, you already know what it feels like when a production leaves you wishing you could see it one more time. Almost, Maine opens tomorrow. Don't let this one be the show you almost saw.

Almost, Maine opens tomorrow -- March 24 through April 12 at Riverside Theatre, 3250 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach. Tickets: 772-231-6990 or riversidetheatre.com.