Friday, November 10, through Saturday, November 18
Scott Community College's Black Box Theatre, 500 Belmont Road, Bettendorf IA
Friday, November 10, through Sunday, November 19
QC Theatre Workshop, 1730 Wilkes Avenue, Davenport IA
Described by the New York Times as a “beautifully structured play with nifty surprise endings (most but not all of them happy),” author John Cariani's romantic comedy Almost, Maine has proven to be one of the millennium's most popular stage works – popular enough to have two separate productions of the show opening locally, on November 10, at Scott Community College and the QC Theatre Workshop.
Set in the fictional small town of its title during the aurora borealis, Almost, Maine features 11 vignettes boasting a wide variety of memorable, quirky figures, among them a woman who carries her broken heart in a small paper bag, and a pair of longtime friends who find themselves unexpectedly, and literally, falling for one another. A hit with critics and audiences ever since its 2004 debut, Almost, Maine is funny, touching, and unusual in its casting requirements, as the play's short-scene/multiple-character structure allows for anywhere between five and 20 actors.
In the SCC production directed by Kevin Babbitt and stage managed by Nathan Elgatian, 17 actors will portray citizens of Almost: Skylar Atwell, Sara Bolet, Antonio Collins, Isabella Conner, Ben Herrington, Manal Houasse, Aria Jensen, Paxton Loquist, Angelique Morgan, Joseph Nguyen, Alec Simpson, Breyden Stanger, Maria Striley, Saige Taggart, Julian Totton, An Truong, and Makis Witt.
And in the Workshop's presentation directed by Jordan McGinnis and stage managed by Hannah Donovan, Almost, Maine is enacted by a cast of eight: Lis Athas, Joe Oliger, and Joshua Pride, all returning Workshop participants, and Kyle DeFauw, Amelia Fischer, Megan Hammerer, Jessica Holzknecht, and Steven Mondloch, all making their venue debuts.
Almost, Maine runs at Scott Community College's Black Box Theatre (Room 228 through Door 2) Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m., admission is $8 at the door, and information is available by contacting director Babbitt at kdbabbitt@eicc.edu.
At the QC Theatre Workshop, Almost, Maine runs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday, admission is “Pay What It's Worth” ticket pricing, and information and reservations are available by calling (563)823-8893 or visiting QCTheatreWorkshop.org.
