*Bay Village Theater’s ‘Almost, Maine’ an ideal inaugural production* Roman Macharoni, Community Theater critic, Mar 6, 2017 Having turned an underutilized church hall into a new stage for local talent, the newly-christened Bay Village Community Theater’s production of “Almost, Maine” is a match made in heaven. First performed at the Portland Stage Company in 2004 before a brief visit to Off-Broadway, John Cariani’s comedy consists of eleven short, mostly two-character scenes enacted by eight performers – Mackenzie Barry-Trombley, Gabriel Chuna, Kaycee Craig, Jim Hagan, Margaret Hnat, Casey McCann, Brittany Shrake and Natalie Romano. Each scene offers a literal interpretation of a common metaphor for love, loss and regret, and is presented with endearing self-awareness and tongue-in-cheek humor. And each character is plain-spoken and propelled to wax poetic by the mystical energy of the aurora borealis high above the mythical town of Almost, Maine. Relationships begin, end and change beyond recognition, as strangers become friends, friends become lovers, and lovers turn into strangers. Though presented as isolated incidents, each story is held together by a web of connections that visualize a whole community experiencing the same gushing romanticisms. “Sad and Glad” is particularly noteworthy. Here, Jimmy (Chuna) finds that his ex-girlfriend Sandrine (Barry-Trombley) has moved on faster than he expected and finds himself filtering his true emotions. In “This Hurts,” slapstick is wonderfully showcased as Marvalyn (Trombley) meets Steve (McCann), a dimwitted man who claims to not feel pain but fears being hurt by love...Click HERE <http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/news/culture/theater/bay-village-theater-s-almost-maine-an-ideal-inaugural-production/article_6aaf2b3c-01b2-11e7-812c-2ffae0d12675.html> to read the rest of the review