C O N N E C T I C U T
--- A R T S ---
C O N N E C T I O N

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Quick Hit Theater Review: Almost Maine -- Music Theatre of Connecticut

Clockwise from upper left: Cynthia Hannah, Tim Reilly, Katie Sparer and Jim Schilling . Photo: Regina Madwed/Capitol Photointeractive
Almost Maine
By John Cariani
Directed by Kevin Connors
Music Theatre of Connecticut, Westport

Summary:
Eight short plays with a prologue and epilogue depict folks falling in and out of love in a town called Almost, ME. The action takes place on a Friday evening in front of a rustic cabin-like backdrop (Scott Holdredge, design) when there is a chance of seeing the Nrothern Lights (similated by designer Joshua Scherr). The plays, featuring different characters played by Cynthia Hannah, Tim Reilly, Jim Schilling and Katie Sparer, are separate from each other, but contain some mentions of common people or places to tie them together.

Highlights:
The actors seem to be having fun and deserve awards for fast their lightning-quick costume changes (Diane Vanderkroef, design) that keep the pace between the plays brisk. Reilly shows off some impressive facial-expression skills and Sparer delights with a wide range of characters. The publicity materials suggest this is perfect for Valentine's Day and we agree. A fun date night of escapism.

Lowlights:
Cariani's predictable script, which takes a few too many liberties with reality and has you saying, "What the heck?" just a few too many times, was a big hit when it premiered in Portland. ME, but flopped Off-Broadway. That sort of says it all.

More information:
The show runs through Feb. 19. Performances: Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 4 and 8 pm, Sundays at 3 pm at MTC's studio theater. 246 Post Road East (Lower Level) in Westport.  Tickets range from $25 to $45 with a discount for seniors and students. Call 203-454-3883 or visit http://www.musictheatreofct.com.

MTC's final production of its 25th anniversary season will by I Left My Heart. . . A Salute to the Music of Tony Bennett April 20-May 6.
--Lauren Yarger
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Lauren Yarger with playwright Alfred Uhry at the Mark Twain House. Photo: Jacques Lamarre)

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced
numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the 2000 Vermont
Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.”

Yarger trained for three years in the Broadway
League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Three-Day Training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway
run.

She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill
Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She writes reviews of Broadway and off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/. She
is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), CT Press Club's award winner of first place for web editing and second place in feature writing for the web in 2012.

She is a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com and is a theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer. She previously served as Connecticut theater editor
for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web. Yarger is a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly and freelances for other sites. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle.

She is a freelance writer and playwright and member of The Drama Desk, The Outer Critics Circle, The American Theater Critics Association and The League of Professional Theatre Women. She served as a judge for the SDX Awards presented
by the Society of Professional Journalists. She also is a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle (awards committee).

A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts,
the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Blog Archive

Copyright Notice

All contents are copyrighted © Lauren Yarger 2009, 2010, 2011.,2012, 2013 All rights reserved.