‘Almost, Maine’ -COURTESY IMAGE

While Florida temperatures are heating up, audiences can step into the remote town of “Almost, Maine” on a winter night, where the impossible seems possible as Theatre Conspiracy brings John Cariani’s romantic comedy-drama to Fort Myers. Through a series of interconnected vignettes filled with humor, heartache and hope and beneath the glow of the northern lights, love arrives in unexpected ways.

“Set on a cold winter night in a small town in northern Maine, ‘Almost, Maine’ follows a collection of residents as they fall in and out of love in ways that are funny, awkward, touching and unexpected. Through a series of interconnected stories, ordinary people experience extraordinary moments as relationships begin, end and sometimes get a second chance,” as noted in Theatre Conspiracy’s press release.

The collection of stories is about love, relationships and the moments that can change life forever.

“The show is just a universally funny, poignant, sweet, touching work that’s hard not to love. It reminds us that love can be messy, awkward, heartbreaking, and hilarious, often all at the same time,” according to director Bill Taylor.

A production filled with characters

Aseem Upadhyay and Kiana-Raine Cintron, who play multiple characters in the production, share a moment in ‘Almost, Maine’, opening June 12. -COURTESY PHOTO

This production brings those touching and often magical stories to audiences through the talents of a four-actor ensemble portraying multiple roles, featuring local cast members including Danica Murray, TJ Albertson, Kiana-Raine Cintron and Aseem Upadhyay.

Murray plays five different characters in the show: Glory, Waitress, Marvalyn, Marci and Rhonda. “The neat thing about all these characters is that they are all uniquely dealing with different types of relationships and love or the lack of it,” she reflects. “So, while they all have very different personalities, they are all connected by that singular thread.”

As Murray prepared for each role, she explained how the ultimate challenge for an actor is to inhabit many characters during one show. “Additionally, I only get to spend one scene each with those characters, so it’s a fantastic challenge to develop a character in a short amount of time,” she added. “What I love about all of them is how truly human they are. However, each of them has so much whimsy sprinkled in. Each scene has an element of magic, and that’s what makes the show so special.”

Albertson plays several characters in the show: East, Steve, Randy, Phil and Dave. “Each of these characters is complex and has their own challenges, but what brings them together is that they are living their lives the best they can in the town of Almost, Maine,” explained Albertson. “What initially drew me to this production is that they are so different and each character has their own story, mannerisms, way they talk, walk and act. It was a dream for me to be involved in a show where I was able to personalize each one, instead of most shows where you typically only play one character.”

Cintron is cast portraying four different characters in the show: Ginette, Sandrine, Gayle and Hope. “Initially, when I was prepping for rehearsals, I felt really drawn to Gayle. Her mind runs a mile a minute and bounces from one train of thought to another,” she explains. “However, once we got into rehearsals my heart was just pulled to Hope. She’s a complicated character with complex feelings and motives. I found myself wanting to spend more time with her, so she didn’t feel so alone in this world with no place in it. Which seems to be her battle cry at the beginning and end of her scene.”

Aseem Upadhyay who plays the roles of Pete, Jimmy, Chad, Lendall and Daniel. -COURTESY PHOTO

Kiana Raine Cintrón who plays Ginette, Sandrine, Gayle and Hope. -COURTESY PHOTO

Upadhyay plays the roles of Pete, Jimmy, Chad, Lendall and Daniel. “I feel in a way, my character’s maturity just grows in that order as well. I start out as the naive and innocent Pete, evolve into Jimmy, who is a grown-up but still adolescent in most ways,” Upadhyay explained, “Then Chad comes in, slightly more mature, followed by Lendall and finally to Daniel, who has lived for a long time and has seen all the ups and downs of life.”

What drew Upadhyay to each character was the fact that he got a chance to play these different levels of understanding about what love and life mean to each of them.

“In reality, when we discover something new about love or life, it completely changes our perspective towards everything. All my roles have had their own personal set of experiences, which have led them to be how they are,” Upadhyay believes.

A town filled with connections

When reflecting on how Taylor approached the casting of four actors for the play, he reveals how he maintained a cohesive production for audiences.

“I think the key is that we never focused on the actors playing multiple roles. We focused on the characters,” he said. “Each scene has its own emotional truth, its own relationships, and its own story. The audience isn’t watching Danica or TJ play another character. They’re watching two new people meet, fall in love, drift apart, or reconnect.”

“Almost, Maine” tackles the characters’ search and rediscovery for connection and belonging through the vignettes.

“What you’re really seeing is a snapshot of a small town over the course of a single night beneath the Northern Lights,” Taylor described. “The actors do play multiple characters, but everyone lives in the same community and is experiencing this unusual night when love seems to be affecting people in unexpected ways.”

Danica Murray, who plays Glory, Waitress, Marvalyn, Marci and Rhonda. -COURTESY PHOTO

TJ Albertson, who plays East, Steve, Randy, Phil and Dave. -COURTESY PHOTO

The play is super unique as it doesn’t ask audiences to stay in one realm during the whole show, Murray believes. “While the human connections are so real, there is something magical or whimsical in each scene. Each scene has something that’s not quite grounded in realism but adds metaphor and nuance to each of the scenes,” she reflects.

With the two couples, the playwright has done a brilliant job of differentiating all the characters and helping the audience understand the context of each scene, Murray added.

“I don’t think the audience will have a hard time following it, and in fact, I think they will quite enjoy the sampler platter of scenes they get to experience,” she continued. “It gives the audience a greater opportunity to find characters they empathize with as each of them are so different.”

According to Taylor, the scenes are largely stand-alone stories, so they’re easy to follow, but they’re also connected by the town itself. “Characters know one another, friendships overlap, locations reappear, and some characters are mentioned in other scenes,” he describes. “By the end of the play, you feel like you’ve spent an evening getting to know an entire community. That’s part of what makes the play so charming and satisfying.”

Upadhyay described his two favorite scenes in this show. “’The story of Hope’ and ‘Where it went’. Both of them feel very real,” he says. “They aren’t love stories out of a movie. One of the best things about those two scenes is how much is said in the unspoken, there are levels and years of emotions behind every line that the characters say. So much hidden subtext! I feel the chills, the disappointment, the little shimmer of hope and love, all at once. I feel our director did a tremendous job with those two.”

While each scene in “Almost, Maine” tells a distinct story, together they form a larger portrait of love, vulnerability and human connection.

“That’s one of the things I love most about the play. It doesn’t present a single definition of love. Instead, it looks at love from a lot of different angles,” Taylor says. “Some characters are falling in love for the first time. Some are trying to hold on to love. Some are dealing with heartbreak, regret, missed opportunities, or the fear of being vulnerable.”

Finding yourself in the story

What makes the play so relatable is that there’s no single “love story,” Taylor added. “It’s really a collection of moments that most of us recognize from our own lives.”

Director Bill Taylor. -COURTESY PHOTO

Cintron believes the overlapping theme in the production is simply love. “Which we all know comes in different forms. It’s beautiful, electrifying, safe, but scary because you have to be vulnerable and honest,” she describes. “To have something as precious as love means you could lose it; it could break you. This show values love in all its varying degrees, but we should take pride in the fact that we love, we’ve been loved, and we will continue to love. I hope the audience will feel that.”

For Albertson, beyond the scenes and the characters, a poignant theme that he also believes will resonate with audiences is love.

“Love, I think the show does an incredible job of providing a take on some of the love phrases and treating things like a ‘broken heart’ or ‘falling in love’ as literal, and makes those moments even more heartwarming or heart-wrenching,” Albertson continued. “I believe everyone who sees this show will see themselves in at least one of the characters. Whether it is falling for a friend with whom they were always close, or an adorable meet-cute, this play truly gives the audience an opportunity to put their own experiences in the show.”

Upadhyay explained how each of his roles navigates the various stages of love.

“My first and last characters have a stark difference in the way that they experience love. Pete has just discovered what love is for the first time in his life, and he is ecstatic to the point that he knows not what to say. Meanwhile, Daniel has been waiting for love all his life, and in some ways still waiting for love to come to him,” he continued. “Jimmy has a hard time being in love, because everybody he loves leaves him and Lendall loves deeply, but does not know how to express it. Chad has discovered that friendship and love could go hand in hand.”

Everyone in the audience, Cintron believes, will relate to at least one character from the show. “They have each been through or experienced something similar to our characters.”

Taylor added, “There are certainly individual moments that stand out, some hilarious, some heartbreaking, some wonderfully magical, but what stays with you is the reminder that love can change your life in an instant.”

Running from June 12 through June 28, “Almost, Maine” will be performed at The Off Broadway Palm Theatre, located at 1380 Colonial Blvd. in Fort Myers. Tickets are $36 and available as buy-one-get-one-free admission. For tickets, visit: theatreconspiracyfl.com/