TCHS Drama Club shows big love for ‘Almost, Maine’

By Kayleigh Rahn
Love is supposed to be as light, playful, and wistful as a single snowflake, while dropping as heavy as a whiteout heart attack snow. It’s hot and cold, uncomfortable and familiar.

And in “Almost, Maine” the Tuscola Community High School Drama Club reminded Fall Play attendees that love is all of the above and everything in between.

Two by two, the cast took the stage in nine vignettes that highlighted relationships in various forms and phases with quirky whimsical story lines that provided heart and laughs.

For example, East (Andrew Penne) was a repairman and Glory (Katie Smith) was an optimistic hiker. She felt entitled to use his land; he felt entitled to lean in for a kiss, all while the Northern Lights began to glow. Glory carried a bag filled with pieces of her broken heart that’d turned to slate after her husband died. East offered to take the bag off her hands and, as a repairman, fix her heart.

And scene.

Warm and heartfelt. The small storylines grabbed the audience and offered a smile. Each story was filled with whimsy that was both entertaining and endearing.

Later it was broken-hearted Jimmy (Caleb Haste) and awkward Sandrine (Maddy Boyd) who bumped into each other at the bar where you can get a free drink if you only admit you’re sad. It quickly became clear they knew each other in a past relationship that Jimmy is still holding onto. The chatter between Jimmy and Sandrine was perfectly timed, uncomfortable but sweet until the audience learned Sandrine was attending her bachelorette party.

She noticed a tattoo on Jimmy’s right forearm that read Villian, a misspelled villain. Jimmy, the self proclaimed villain who only says he’s glad Sandrine “got found” calls for the talkative waitress (Justine Kaufmann) so he can admit he’s sad. That is until her learns the waitress’s name is Villian.

Scene.

The full story can be found in the Wednesday, Oct. 17 edition of The Tuscola Journal.