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High Point to 'Almost, Maine'

| 29 Oct 2014 | 01:55
    Photos by Viktoria-Leigh Wagner High Point Junior Nathan Stillings, 17 of Sussex is Steve, a man with congenital analgesia, who finds love with Marvalyn (played by senior Mariah Ouellette of Wantage) after she accidentally hits him over the head with an ironing board 
    Photos by Viktoria-Leigh Wagner High Point Junior Nathan Stillings, 17 of Sussex is Steve, a man with congenital analgesia, who finds love with Marvalyn (played by senior Mariah Ouellette of Wantage) after she accidentally hits him over the head with an ironing board 
    Senior Brooke Sutton, 17 of Branchville plays "Gayle," the eleven-year girlfriend to "Lendall" (played by Freshman Nicholas Meurer of Wantage) seen arguing over the concept of marriage
    Senior Brooke Sutton, 17 of Branchville plays "Gayle," the eleven-year girlfriend to "Lendall" (played by Freshman Nicholas Meurer of Wantage) seen arguing over the concept of marriage
    High Point High School senior Mariah Ouellette, 17 of Wantage plays Marvalyn and is seen tending to Steve, portrayed by Junior Nathan Stillings of Sussex, after accidentally hitting him over the head with an ironing board
    High Point High School senior Mariah Ouellette, 17 of Wantage plays Marvalyn and is seen tending to Steve, portrayed by Junior Nathan Stillings of Sussex, after accidentally hitting him over the head with an ironing board
    Senior Brooke Sutton, 17 of Branchville embraces Freshman Nicholas Meurer, 14 of Wantage as “Gayle” and “Lendall”
    Senior Brooke Sutton, 17 of Branchville embraces Freshman Nicholas Meurer, 14 of Wantage as “Gayle” and “Lendall”

SUSSEX BOROUGH — The High Point Regional High School theater program will present "Almost, Maine," starting Friday and running through Sunday.

"Almost, Maine," written by John Cariani, tells the stories of nine pairs of lovers in the remote, fictitious town of Almost in Aroostook County, Maine. Each story reveals what the characters are doing at nine o’clock on a Friday night during a blizzard.

Featuring a mythical town so far north, it’s almost nonexistent due to its size and location nearly crossing the Canadian border, Almost, Maine performances are almost here:

“It’s very unique in the sense that it is a series of nine vignettes about love,” said High Point High Theater director, teacher and Choral Instructor Theresa Riccardi, “and about how people fall in and out of love in the strangest ways.”

What Riccardi calls “a beautiful piece,” "Almost, Maine" is one of the most-produced plays in the country by high schools, colleges and universities, having been first developed at the Cape Cod Theater Project (Andy Polk, Artistic Director) in 2002 before its 2004 premier at the Portland Stage Company in Portland, Maine.

"Almost, Maine" opened Off-Broadway Jan. 12, 2006, at the Daryl Roth Theatre in New York City and was published by Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

To date, the play has been produced by more than 2,500 theater companies in the United States, including its recent revival this past August at The Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Mass.

There are nine 15-20 minute scenes: "Her Heart," "Sad & Glad," "Seeing the Thing," "Story of Hope," "Where It Went," "This Hurts," "They Fell," "Epilogue" and "Prologue."

“It’s an incredible challenge for its actors because each scene is its own story with a climax,” Riccardi said. “Each contains a tremendous amount of characterization and depth in regards to the couple’s relationship. It’s really been a wonderful process watching these 19 students discover how much can happen within just one scene.”

Senior Mariah Ouellette, 17, of Wantage plays Marvalyn, a woman in an abusive relationship who finds love unexpectedly while doing laundry:

“Marvalyn’s relationship with her significant other, Eric, has stunted her from reaching her full capacity as a person. She’s very compassionate and wants to be a nurse, but Eric has kept her from following her dreams,” Ouellette said.

Ouellette’s character meets Steve, played by Junior Nathan Stillings of Sussex, who is someone Ouellette describes as “open and inviting who doesn’t shut her away from the rest of the world. It’s like this new, crazy experience for her. Crazy part is he’s got congenital analgesia — he does not feel any physical pain.”

This is freshman Nicholas Meurer, 14, of Wantage’s first time on the High Point stage. He plays Lendall, a man who has been in a relationship with a woman named Gayle — portrayed by Senior Brooke Sutton, 17 of Branchville — for 11 years.

“Gayle has been expecting a marriage proposal,” says Meurer, “and because Lendall hasn’t responded to the suggestion of matrimony, a fight starts between the two of them.”

Performances are Thursday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m., Saturday Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 2 , at p.m. Students and senior citizen tickets are $8.00 and adult tickets are $9. Seniors are admitted free of charge on Sunday.