Extraordinary Things

John Cariani on 20 Years of ALMOST, MAINE

Playwright John Cariani is the mind behind the wildly popular ALMOST, MAINE, which appears on the Next Act stage this November and December. We sat down with him to get his thoughts on how the play has evolved in the 20 years since its world premiere.

What has driven you to continue working on the play since to first production and publication?

I don’t think any of my plays will ever be finished. They can always be clearer. And shorter, for sure! Because all plays can be shorter!

But… I think I’ve continued to work on ALMOST, MAINE because I want it to be… ageless, timeless. (That’s why it’s set in a mythical place in the distant or not-too-distant past.) And now that it’s twenty years old, well… sometimes it shows its age. And when it shows its age, I have to adapt. And actors and theatre artists and audiences are really good at letting me know when it’s time to adapt. I have seen so many productions of ALMOST, MAINE—professional productions, high school productions, college productions, community theatre productions—and after just about every production I’ve seen, I’ve met with the artists involved and I’ve engaged with audiences. And I’ve asked everybody what they think of the play—what they love about it, what they don’t love about it. And learning what they don’t love about it—well, it’s helped me understand that I will always have work to do on ALMOST, MAINE. And doing that work helps me keep it alive and relevant.

To be clear—ALMOST, MAINE hasn’t ever been rewritten wholesale. It’s the same play it’s been since its world premiere twenty years ago. But I’ve tweaked it and adjusted it gently over the years. And Next Act audiences will be seeing the latest and greatest version of the script!

What is different about the play when produced by a professional company like Next Act versus a high school or college?

ALMOST, MAINE is the most popular play in North American high schools over the last decade. Which has surprised me! How could a play for adults be so embraced by young people?!? Many teachers have told me it’s because the characters in ALMOST, MAINE are hopeful and haven’t lost their innocence—much like high school and college students; and it’s because high school and college students have just started to experience love and loss, so they can tap into just enough of the sadness that runs through the play to give the play some depth… but they aren’t yet so jaded that they can’t access genuine hope and joy and innocence. And the joy and genuine innocence that young people bring to the play is beautiful.

But… when adults do the play, there’s a world-weariness and a deep sadness and a quiet desperation that creeps in and gently imposes itself on the play and I live for that! ALMOST, MAINE is funny, for sure—but it’s very sad. As much as it’s about finding love and connection, it’s also about loneliness and loss. And adult actors just understand the loneliness and loss better than young people do. So I get excited when adults—especially professional ones!—tackle the play. Because there’s so much more at stake—so much more desperation!

What would you say about the play to an audience member who is hoping to dive deeper into the themes?

I don’t think anyone watching the play has to dive deeper into the themes of the play. I think if Next Act does the play well—and I have tremendous confidence that you will—I have heard such terrific things about the company and the work you all do!—but… if Next Act does the play well, the themes will be clear. And the themes in ALMOST, MAINE are… that love can happen. To anyone. When you least expect it.

And that… love is tenuous. And must be tended to.

And that hope and joy exist in hardscrabble places—like Northern Maine.

I want people to leave ALMOST, MAINE thinking about rural America differently. I want them to see rural Americans as joyful, competent, complicated people instead of as the simpletons and addicts contemporary American art and culture portray them as.

I also want people to realize that ALMOST, MAINE is a romantic comedy, not a sentimental comedy. F. Scott Fitzgerald said that “the sentimental person thinks things will last—the romantic person has a desperate confidence that they won’t.” The people in ALMOST, MAINE are romantics, not sentimentalists.

And—I want people to think about how, in today’s world, the wealthy and the famous and the beautiful and the powerful—the extraordinary people—seem to try to own “extraordinary.” And nobody owns “extraordinary.” Extraordinary things happen to ordinary people all the time. In ALMOST, MAINE, ordinary people find love—spectacular love!—and lose love. And—when anyone finds love—or loses it!—that’s extraordinary.

How much of the writing of this play do you feel is Maine-specific, and how much do you feel is more broadly universal, or at least regional?

There are some wonderful Maine-isms that only Mainers can fully enjoy. There used to be many, many more of them! But—I learned early on in the development of ALMOST, MAINE that I had too many inside jokes. I was alienating the non-Mainers in the audience. So I removed the bulk of the jokes that only Mainers would get. And that made the play specific enough to appeal to Mainers—and universal enough to appeal to non-Mainers. And now, the play is pretty universal. As evidenced by its popularity, I guess! I mean, right now, the play is playing in Korea (where it’s very extremely popular), Romania, Belgium, UAE, and… there’s a big production opening in Mexico City soon. All this to say, ALMOST, MAINE has been performed all over the world and has been translated into nearly a dozen languages, I think. So… it seems to be pretty universal!

And I grew up in far Northern Maine, in a farm town, where potatoes are the main crop. My mom was teacher and my dad worked for the power company. And I had friends who were from farm families. So I grew up with the people who inhabit ALMOST, MAINE. Every character in the play is a composite of people from my hometown.

It’s funny—I was taught I had to leave Northern Maine if I wanted to be successful. So I left. And when I went away to college I was so homesick! I think that’s why I write about that part of the world. It’s still “home” to me. It’s the place that made me.

What is it like to perform in your own play?

I’ve only performed in ALMOST, MAINE three times—and it was hard! It’s a hard play to learn! I was the last person to learn my lines in each production I was in!

But I’ve loved acting in it. I’m a character actor and character actors don’t often get to star in love stories. Character actors usually help some hot person get the guy or get the girl or achieve their dreams. But in ALMOST, MAINE, every actor gets a chance to get the girl or the guy or have the dream come true (or lose the girl or lose hope or lose out on the dream). And—for this character actor—that’s a dream come true!

What lessons have you taken away from 20+ years of ALMOST, MAINE?

I think the popularity of ALMOST, MAINE has given me confidence that hope and joy are valid components of drama—that plays can traffic in hope and joy.

Musicals are allowed to be hopeful and joyful. Musicals are actually expected to be hopeful and joyful. But plays aren’t. Plays are supposed to be important and issue-driven and political in order to be taken seriously. And I think that’s really too bad. I think playwriting as an art form has suffered tremendously because of this kind of thinking.

Have the ways you see the play and its message(s) changed over time?

The message hasn’t changed. But maybe the way the play is received has? Maybe because this is a good time for ALMOST, MAINE? The world feels like a rough place right now. We’re all told all the time that we don’t get along, that we all hate each other. Maybe ALMOST, MAINE helps people remember that love is all around and that most people are interested in getting along with each other?

Typing that last sentence just reminded me that a company in Whitefish, Montana was doing the play recently and I got an email from the director of their production telling me how wonderful it’s been for him to see his community embrace the play. He said an audience member approached him after the show one night and told him how nice—and interesting—it was to see a show about people getting along or trying to get along.

Getting along is hard. And we’re not working very hard at it at all right now.

I like that ALMOST, MAINE maybe makes people want to work harder at getting along?

Tickets are now on sale for ALMOST, MAINE by John Cariani. Call (414) 278-0765 or buy online now!