Almost, Maine

By John Cariani

On a cold winter’s evening, under the magnetic magic of the northern lights, several couples in the sleepy, mythical town of Almost, Maine, experience love’s joys and perils through a series of romantic, whimsical, unpredictable and often hilarious vignettes. Hearts are embraced, bruised, broken and mended – almost – leaving the people of this remote town forever changed.

SHOW PHOTOS

2015 Performance Dates

November 13, 14, 20 & 21 at 8 p.m.
November 15 & 22 (ASL interpreted) at 2:30 p.m.

Ticket Information

Adults - $10
Seniors (55 and over) - $7
Non-KSU Students (17 and under) - $7
KSU Students - Free with current ID

• Tickets go on sale November 2.
• Purchase tickets online, by phone or in person at the Box Office.
• Visa, MasterCard and Discover accepted. Checks and cash accepted in person at the Box Office.
• Tickets purchased online or by phone will be available at Will Call.
• Will Call opens one hour prior to curtain time and closes when the performance begins.
• Kent State Students: Free admission with current Kent State ID. Seats must be reserved in person at the Box Office.
• No refunds for purchased tickets. Exchanges for the same production can be made by contacting the Box Office prior to the reserved performance date.
• Tickets held at Will Call will be forfeited if not picked up by curtain time.

Cast

Serena Fronimo: Waitress, Gayle, Hope

Zach Manthey: Jimmy, Randy, Dan
Zach is no stranger to the theatre community and has appeared in a number of plays around Ohio, including Twelve Angry Jurors, as the cynical Third Juror; Annie, as the eccentric Rooster Hannigan; and A Christmas Carol, as the cheerful Bob Cratchit. He recently played the role of Harper in One Slight Hitch and Father O'Hara in Blur at Kent State Stark. Once a theatre major at Ashland University, Zach now spends his latter days as a self-proclaimed creative writing and film major, working to create the next greatest film the world has ever seen since Sister Act 2, in hopes to make acting legend James Spader proud. 

Maya Nicholson: Ginette, Sandrine, Rhonda
Maya is majoring in theatre production with a minor in marketing. She graduated from Copley High School in Copley, Ohio, as the president of her Thespian Club, where she performed in Smokey Joe’s Café, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Little Shop of Horrors; she has also directed George Washington Slept Here and Copley’s Got Talent (the annual talent show). She acted in Kent State Stark's Voices from Hurt Street as various characters, one being “Winifred Oprey” doing a play-off of the Oprah Winfrey Show, and she was costume design assistant for I Love You Because and assistant stage manager in Spring Awakening. Last season she performed as the sassy sister, Libby, in The Maiden’s Prayer, Melanie, the outspoken sister in Lewis Black's One Slight Hitch and most recently, Francis, in Blur. She is also currently enrolled in theatre courses, and aspires to be a director in theatre, film and television.

C.J. Pinter: Pete, Steve, Chad, Dave
C.J. is a sophomore at Kent State Stark, and is majoring in marketing, as well as theatre. He played Stu in Our House, and Paul in The Maiden's Prayer at Kent State Stark. C.J. has done theatre in high school, snagging multiple leads in Rehearsal for Murder, and being plant operator for Little Shop of Horrors. Most recently, he served as stage manager for Kent State Stark's One Slight Hitch. He also started the One Act Festival at his high school, and was also president of the Improv club. Aside from theatre, he enjoys a nice healthy lunch from Chipotle, head banging to music, and quoting Will Ferrell as much as humanly possible. He would like to thank the director for challenging him and giving him this great opportunity. 

Ben Seeley: East, Lendall, Phil

Molly Hollenbaugh: Glory, Marvalyn, Marci, Suzette

Production Team

Brian Newberg: Director
Brian Newberg is an Assistant Professor of Theatre and Theatre Director at Kent State University at Stark. Brian’s directing experience (more than 80 production credits) includes Broadway, regional, equity waiver, industry showcases, new work development and many college productions. He has extensive experience as an actor (more than 70 production credits) in the New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oregon areas. He has also served as an associate artistic director for a regional theatre company, run his own private acting studios, and taught at a number of colleges on the West Coast before coming to Kent State. Brian is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) and received his M.F.A. in Directing from the University of California, Irvine.

Louis Williams: Scenic & Lighting Designer
Louis Williams is the resident technical director and scenic and lighting designer at Kent State Stark and has designed more than 200 productions in 30 years in theatre, opera, ballet and rock 'n' roll. This includes work with such theatre companies as: the American Ballet Theatre II; the Joffrey Ballet II; the Arizona Theatre Company; the Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis; the Kenley Players; the Ohio Light Opera; the Cleveland Opera; the Cinncinnati Opera; Southern Arizona Light Opera Company; Carousel Dinner Theatre; the Agora, Cleveland Ohio; the Temple of Music and Art, Tucson, Arizona; ChildsPlay Inc., of Phoenix, Arizona; and the Scottsdale Civic Center, Scottsdale, Arizona. Read more about Louis Williams.

Ron Jarvis: Sound Designer
You might recognize Ron Jarvis as a performer, producer, music director, and/or composer for such stalwart Northeast Ohio acts as The Buckeye Biscuit Band, Ital, First Light, Alex Bevan, Pat Dailey and, most recently, Macaw: the American Worldbeat Band. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Kent State where he has taught Art of the Theatre and Theatre Criticism classes, as well as the three-part series of Sound Design and Technology classes for the Entertainment Arts and Technologies certificates program. Ron has worked with world renowned directors Vincent Dowling (composition for The Winter’s Tale at Kent State) as well as Ping Chong (Blindness: The Irresistible Light Of Encounter at La Mama Theatre in NYC) and has served as a live-mix consultant at Geauga Lake and Cedar Point amusement parks. Although his first sound design for Kent State Stark was for the 2002 production of Dancing at Lughnasa, since 2007 he has designed many of the Kent State Stark theatrical productions including Oklahoma!, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, Into the Woods, The Revenger’s Tragedy, The Mikado, Crazy for You, Dating is Tough to Do... and Funny, Too!, Songs for a New World, Plumfield, Iraq, Evil Dead: The Musical and Anton in Show Business.

Stephen Ostertag: Costume Designer
Stephen is a recent theatre graduate and costume designer for the Kent State Stark Theatre. He was costume designer for Spring Awakening, costume design assistant for The Crucible, scenic/lighting design assistant for the production of Buried Child, crew for One Slight Hitch and was part of the writing ensemble for Voices from Hurt Street. Some of his favorite onstage credits include Lennie in Of Mice and Men, The Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz, and Nick in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Stephen also enjoys directing, writing and designing. When not busy with the Kent State Stark theatre, or his two children, Stephen runs the Silver Star Youth Theatre Company with his wife, Tricia.

Breanna Morton: Stage Manager
Breanna is a sophomore at Kent State Stark, majoring in Theatre Management. She graduated from Hoover High School in North Canton, where she performed in Les Misérables and Beauty and the Beast; worked on Peter Pan, Aida, Harvey, The Paper Chase, Wizard of Oz, and It's a Wonderful Life; and was stage manager for It's Murder in the Wings, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Aladdin Jr. and Blur. She hopes to one day move to New York City and work as a stage manager for Broadway shows.

Jered Rossow: Stage Manager
Jered is a design/technology Theatre major who is a Stark and Kent campus veteran. His previous credits include stage manager for The Maiden's Prayer, crew on Evil Dead: The Musical and The Crucible, costume design assistant on Anton in Show Business, sound design assistant on Buried Child, assistant stage manager for I Love You Because, and sound/multimedia assistant for Voices from Hurt Street at Kent State Stark. At the Kent Campus, he worked as assistant stage manager on the student-run production of Sondheim: A Celebration and the main stage production of You Can't Take It With You. He also was production stage manager for the Student Theatre Festival last April. He is beyond excited to be a part of Almost, Maine, and looks forward to continuing his last year at Stark with The Bicentennial Project and at Kent with the Kent Dance Ensemble. 

Kelsey Scheppler: Costume Design Assistant, Wardrobe Supervisor
Kelsey is a freshman at Kent State University at Stark, majoring in Psychology. She graduated from Hoover High School in North Canton. She performed in Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast, and The Audition. Most recently, she served as costume design assistant in Blur.

Samantha Wadsworth: Scenic/Lighting Design Assistant

Justin Miller: Sound Design Assistant

James McKeon: Multimedia Design Assistant
James is a music technology major at Kent State Stark. He has an extensive background in music performance and writing, as well as painting. James has performed in various bands since 5th grade, and has created original artwork all his life. He learned about scenic design through his first full theatre experience at Kent State Stark with Evil Dead: The Musical and again as scenic/lighting design assistant in Spring Awakening. He recently was a crew member for The Maiden's Prayer, Cat's-Paw, Our House, One Slight Hitch and Blur. James works as a theatre technician for the Kent State Stark Theatre Department.

Sean Carson: Multimedia Design Assistant

Anthony Antoniades: Crew
Anthony Antoniades appeared in Huck Finn’s Story, Dating Is Tough To Do... and Funny, Too!, Plumfield, Iraq, Buried Child and Blur at Kent State Stark, where he also was stage manager for Songs for a New World and Evil Dead: The Musical, and served as lighting design assistant for Anton in Show Business. He is a theatre major at Kent State.

Jillian Dailey: Crew
Jillian began her theatrical training at Lake Center Christian High School, where she was involved in all the musicals and plays during her four years there. This included leading roles in Seussical and Little Women. She is a junior at Kent State Stark, where she has performed in Anton in Show Business and Plumfield, Iraq; was the costume design assistant for I Love You Because, Evil Dead: The Musical and Voices From Hurt Street; and was a member of the crew for The Maiden's Prayer, Cat's-Paw, Our House, One Slight Hitch, Spring Awakening and Blur. She was a member of the writing ensemble for Voices From Hurt Street. Jillian works as a theatre technician for the Kent State Stark Theatre Department.

Michaela Muckelrath: Crew

David Sponhour: Crew
David has been active in theater for over 30 years. He has performed on many local stages, and acted at Kent State Stark in Cat’s Paw, Buried Child and One Slight Hitch, where he is a full-time theatre student. David served as assistant director for Voices from Hurt Street, sound design assistant for The Maiden's Prayer and crew for Spring Awakening and Blur. He is also a founding member of “Scared Scriptless," Canton’s premiere professional improv troupe. Some of his favorite past performances include Crumpet in Santaland Diaries, Comet in The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, Jerry in Zoo Story and Hal in Proof starring All My Children’s David Canary. He spends what little free time he has with his wonderful, spectacular and supportive wife, Christine.

Bryan Steffee: Crew
Bryan has been part of many productions, such as Bye, Bye Birdie, Lil’ Abner, Annie, and The Sound of Music. He played the doctor/student in Blur, was a member of the writing ensemble and cast for Voices From Hurt Street, was scenic/lighting design assistant for I Love You Because and One Slight Hitch, was a costume design assistant for The Crucible and Buried Child, and was on the crew for Spring Awakening at Kent State Stark. He is majoring in theatre with a minor in English. Bryan works as a theatre technician for the Kent State Stark Theatre Department.