BWW Reviews: GSU's ALMOST, MAINE: That Time Absurdity and Hooligans Didn't Ruin a Show

During Georgia Southern University's one-act production of John Cariani's ALMOST, MAINE, the most frequent question I asked myself was first, "Why did those hooligans on the front row come to see this show?" and second, "Is that a new character?" Student shows of course come with student patrons, but unruly ones have great potential to ruin a production- and these distracting young people very nearly did. And I must say that in a show full of short vignettes, concentration was vital. Thus from a "kids these days" approach did I view this play, wishing I had brought a cane to wave in frustration.

It's very important to preface this with the fact that this production was completely student-produced by the student theatre organization, Theatre South. Making her directorial debut, Ibiwumi Owolabi has a work to be proud of.

Each actor played at least two characters, if not four. Though, it is very likely I would not have realized that some of the actors were portraying more than one character had the program not told me. By its nature, the structure of the show was driven by an interesting artistic choice, having actors portray multiple roles, but was lacking in clarity of the character's identities. I frequently wondered if we were meeting a new character or not. This weak execution lay more in the script's infrequent re-iteration of each character's name than anything else. Fortunately, the character identities were not confounding enough to detract from the show itself, which proved to be an absurdly entertaining romp around some kind of metaphysical city in Maine, which included components similar to those found in The Phantom Tollbooth.

Though he made little distinction among his three characters, Michael Conner's minimalistic delivery left the audience in stitches and successfully fit the intimate venue. The adorable Claire Torell likewise had the audience eating out of her hand.

Making her Georgia Southern theatre debut, Rebecca Frost used excellent comedic timing and expressive physicalities which perfectly communicated a comedy of this absurd nature. Ms. Frost stole the show as she portrayed her three characters very distinctly.

Rounding out the cast were Will Leach, Diamond Patton- both making their Georgia Southern theatre debuts as well, and Justin Matthew Toyer.

In the small space, many of the extremely theatrical antics employed by some of the actors overpowered the room and intruded on the audience's experience, as well as causing many lines to be lost.

In any student-produced show, it would be expected that props and set pieces will likely malfunction in some fashion, but all that we can really demand of the cast and crew is that they handle any mishaps with professionalism and minimal giggles. And this company did exactly that.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, no, I did not give the hooligans a piece of my mind, nor did I send their mothers a strongly-worded note. I think calling them out in a reputable publication is retribution enough.

Georgia Southern University's production of ALMOST, MAINE played in Sanford Hall, Oct. 16-18.

Cast: Claire Torell as Hope and Lendall, Will Leach as Pete, Waiter, and Phil, Diamond Patton as Gayle, Marci, Suzette, and Glory, Justin Matthew Toyer as East, Dave, and Randy, Michael Conner as Chad, Jimmy, and Man, and Rebecca Frost as Ginette, Sandrine, and Rhonda.

ALMOST, MAINE was produced by Gage Crook under the direction of Ibiwumi Owolabi, with lighting design by David Singleton, scenic design by Colin Hancock and Tajh Oates, sound design by Dani McGee, props by David Singleton, movement coordination by Nicholas Newell, and stage management by Brandon Muggy.