By Noah Levy ‘13
EE Managing Editor
For years, Trumbull High School has been recognized for its award winning musicals like Fiddler on the Roof and The Wiz, but this past month, a new type of play was added to the THS Theater pantheon. On November 30th, Trumbull High School put on its first ever straight play, called Almost, Maine, directed by Junior Larissa Mark and Senior Gabby Gottschall. Almost, Maine is a quirky, cute, and unbearably funny romantic comedy.
This interesting play shows a wide range of characters and situations. From a married couple at the breaking point, unrequited lovers, two good pals, and one who marked himself a “villain,” there’s no situation this play has not touched upon. The audience steps into the tiny, “not quite together” town of Almost and peek into the lives of the residents. Viewers witness the joys of love and life and the sorrows at the end of forgotten friendships. But unlike previous productions at THS, Almost, Maine is also a straight play.
Some of you may be asking, “What’s a straight play?” Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like. A play. Unlike a musical, there are no song and dance numbers, and the only music is played during the interim between scenes. This is a departure from previous THS Productions, which up to this point had all been musicals.
What do we find in the wacky world of Almost, Maine? The show is a series of vignettes, short ten minute scenes, that all take place in a town in Maine called, Almost. In this town, the audience encounters a variety of characters from the happy and in love, to the depressed and regretful. For example, the scene “Her Heart “involves two people named East (Will Sun) and Glory (Julia Illea) trying to fix her literally broken heart. Then there is “This Hurts,” about Steve (Michael Grischuk), a guy who cannot feel pain, and Marvalyn (Katherine Griffin), the girl who tries to understand him. And then there is “They Fell,” about two co-workers named Randy (Nick Grew) and Chad (Jordan Buckman) who might turn out to be more than just friends.
For all the quirky, light hearted stories, this show contains just as many powerful emotional scenes. One such is “Story of Hope,” about a girl named Hope (Emily Ramsey) coming back to a guy (Michael Lepore) who she left before having the chance to answer an important question. The preceding scene, called “Where It Went,” is probably the most emotionally potent of all the vignettes, in which a married couple (Matt Johnson and Alex Allyn) come to terms with several unfortunate facts about their relationship.
Almost, Maine has hopefully started a new tradition of an annual Trumbull High School fall straight play. Featuring a very talented cast of students who portray these situations and characters wondrously, it was a fantastic production with a great cast, and it’s great to see the presence of theater expand at THS outside of the spring musical.
Additional reporting by Tina DeLuca ’15, EE Staff Writer. Photos courtesy of Sydney Sheehan.
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