{"id":327309,"date":"2026-05-22T04:32:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T04:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/327309\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T04:32:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T04:32:14","slug":"santa-clara-players-portrays-variations-on-the-theme-of-love-in-almost-maine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/327309\/","title":{"rendered":"Santa Clara Players Portrays Variations on the Theme of Love in \u201cAlmost, Maine\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

The romantic comedy \u201cAlmost, Maine\u201d by American actor and playwright John Cariani runs May 22 \u2013 June 6 for eight performances on stage with the Santa Clara Players.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost, Maine\u201d is set in a fictional, rural northeastern U.S. town so far north that it is almost in Canada. In nine vignettes, all set on the same cold winter\u2019s night\u2014with the Northern Lights illuminating the sky, mystical things happen to the town residents as they fall in and out of love and in again.<\/p>\n

The diverse Bay Area cast of ten plus two directors are all in love with Cariani\u2019s first play and predict that audiences will love it, too.<\/p>\n

SPONSORED<\/p>\n

\"BrainShare\"BrainShare<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople should come to see \u2018Almost, Maine\u2019 if they want to add just a dash of hope, love and magic to their lives,\u201d said show Director Patrick Idleman<\/a>, a veteran actor and director with the nonprofit community theater, founded in 1962.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Assistant Director Lauren D\u2019Ambrosio\u2014with more than 15 years of local theater experience\u2014pointed out, love stories have universal appeal.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Almost, Maine\u2019 is about love beginning, enduring, not\u00a0enduring, and changing over time,\u201d said D\u2019Ambrosio, calling it a favorite play.<\/p>\n

SPONSORED<\/p>\n

\"Davidkertes_ad\"\"Davidkertes_ad\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cLove is a many-splendored\u00a0thing and a many-layered thing and can spark between any two people\u2014even strangers. Under the supernatural effects of the Aurora\u00a0Borealis, all expectations can be put aside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Idleman explained that the biggest challenge with a large cast was coordinating personal schedules with rehearsal times, including bringing in a fight choreographer and an intimacy coordinator.<\/p>\n

Sara Trupski plays two characters\u2014Rhonda, who is uncomfortable with physical affection, and Lendall, who has a troubled relationship with their long-time girlfriend.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are parts of me in both characters. And parts of both characters that are completely new to me,\u201d said Trupski. \u201cIt\u2019s fun to get to know them and bring them to life onstage in a way that, hopefully, others can relate to.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so excited to share this play with the community! \u2018Almost Maine\u2019 is one of my favorite plays. I hope audiences will love it as much as I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her SC Players debut, Kyrie Timbrook also plays two characters\u2014Marvalyn, a boarding house tenant, and Marci, a wife trying to reignite a spark in her marriage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m more comfortable performing in musicals, where I can hide behind a layer of music and choreography,\u201d said Timbrook. \u201cThis is my first straight play I\u2019ve performed since high school (over 20 years ago). To me, it feels very vulnerable to be acting not just in two-person scenes, but also in such an intimate venue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Debuting in 2004 in Portland, Maine, and updated in 2014, \u201cAlmost, Maine\u201d is the most well-known of Cariani<\/a>\u2019s plays. It has been translated into more than a dozen languages and produced more than 6,000 times worldwide.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Almost, Maine\u2019 juxtaposes the surreal and the mundane \u2026 It is a place and a show where metaphor becomes reality and somehow sacrifices neither reality\u2019s grit nor metaphor\u2019s romanticism,\u201d said Idleman.<\/p>\n

Visit the Santa Clara Players online<\/a> or call (408) 248-7993 for tickets<\/a> in the 71-seat Hall Pavilion (behind Santa Clara\u2019s Triton Museum of Art), 1750 Don Avenue at Warburton Avenue.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Almost Maine\u2019\u201d has a bit of everything\u2014comedy, tragedy, drama, truth, satire, surrealism, and even a bit of magic. But at its core, it is a play about love,\u201d said Trupski. \u201cAnd there\u2019s always room for more love in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Post:
Santa Clara Players Reprises a Neil Simon Classic\u2014\u201cBarefoot in the Park\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

SPONSORED<\/p>\n

\"VTA\"VTA<\/a><\/p>\n

SPONSORED<\/p>\n

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