It’s become a popular production to present as of late, but Larry McLellan, president of Lompoc Civic Theatre, didn’t know that when he added Almost, Maine to the theater’s season lineup.
“The play is getting a reputation that everybody has to do it,” he said.
The show recently ran in Cambria, and it’s currently in production in Thousand Oaks. But McLellan just wanted to bring a little taste of his northeastern stomping grounds to the Central Coast. Originally from Maine, McLellan said the show sparked his interest when he first saw it. When he saw it again in Los Angeles, he knew he wanted to include it in the Lompoc Civic Theatre’s repetoire if he had the chance. That chance finally came, and the warm-hearted romantic comedy by John Cariani opens March 16.
Almost, Maine tells nine stories, which take place at the same magical moment on a cold, clear winter night in the mythical town of Almost, Maine. Against a backdrop of the Northern Lights, the town’s residents find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected ways.
McLellan said the imaginary town exists inland in northern Maine, so it’s devoid of the stereotypical Maine accents audiences often see. He added that there are still a lot of details that are very Maine-centric.
“There’s a scene where some guys are standing around drinking beer, and someone said, ‘Shouldn’t they be crushing the beer cans and throwing them on the ground?’ The thing is, they wouldn’t do that in Maine,” McLellan explained. “Each can has a deposit marker for 5 cents. They can take it to any store and cash it in. That’s money.”
Though the coastal Maine accent is missing, the play does capture certain other language nuance: “They use ‘wicked’ a lot, the way you would use ‘very,’ and you’ll hear them often say ‘jeesum crow,’ which functions like swearing,” McLellan said.
Another way McLellan has tried to set his production apart is through the recreation of the Northern Lights. While many productions have tried to simply use lighting to represent them, McLellan brought on a PCPA lighting design intern to recreate them, as they’re such an overarching theme throughout the play.
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McLellan and his assistant director, Lompoc Civic Theatre veteran Christine Jeszeck, took advantage of a large audition turnout and changed the way the roles are traditionally performed. In most productions of the play, a cast of two men and two women perform all the roles. McLellan and Jeszeck are using a 10-person cast; many of them play multiple roles to bring the townsfolk to life.
“It gave us the flexibility to bring in more people from the community, and it really has helped us to bring variety in terms of the ages and characters of the town,” McLellan said.
The cast includes some new faces, as well as Lompoc Civic Theatre alumni Brandy Flint, Ryan Garner, Connor Galvin, Meagan Kuchan, Richard Lonsbury, Diane Machin, Peter Mustain, Zachary Schmidt, Scott Swisher, and Savannah Wong. A highlight of this production is the original musical score by local pianist William Koseluk.
McClelland said the play has some tense moments and some sad moments, but it’s a lighthearted story. He’s especially proud to have the ability to bring in such a variety of actors—both experienced and first-timers.
“It’s one of those things where having a community production gives you the opportunity to get so many people involved who are in so many different places in their lives,” he said. “It’s really a great opportunity.”
Arts Editor Shelly Cone can be contacted at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 15-22, 2012.