"Almost, Maine"

July 22, 2011 — A program note states the play takes place "on a cold, moonless, slightly surreal night in the middle of the deepest part of a northern Maine winter." That was a concept difficult to imagine in the sweltering heat of the temporary theater set up in the Governor's Lodge at Loon Mountain in Lincoln, New Hampshire for the North Country Center for the Arts. Directly under the roof of the pavilion, five large overhead fans were totally ineffective in overcoming the heat that had built up over the course of a day in the 90s. It must have been torture for the actors, dressed in parkas, knitted caps, gloves and heavy boots. In one hilarious scene, two actors proceed to peel off about five layers of heavy clothing. (They stopped at one final set of longjohns.)

"Almost, Maine," playing concurrently at Lincoln and the New London Barn Playhouse, was not on my list to see this season. But after a second day with temperatures at or slightly over 100 degrees, I needed to escape the heat of the city. A long drive in the air conditioned car seemed particularly appealing. I knew the Governor's Lodge in Lincoln wasn't air conditioned and the New London theater was, but I trusted the Governor's Lodge, farther north and high on the slope of Loon Mountain, would be at least tolerable. It was, but just barely. During intermission, after the sun went down, we stepped outside. The temperature was then about 80. It's amazing what a relief 80 can be after being exposed to 100 for two days.

This was a sweet, quirky play about relationships in a northern rural community, played out in a series of short vignettes. The actors showed not a hint of the discomfort they must have felt in the hot, humid theater in their heavy, multi-layered costumes. The New London Barn put up a video on their website showing excerpts from their version of the play. The New London actors were older and their delivery harsher, in contrast to the softer touch of the Lincoln players. In my opinion, the New London cast lacked the warmth and likeability of the Lincoln cast. I'm convinced I made the right choice in going to Lincoln.