Almost, Maine

Every scene in this play revolves around love in one form or another, and taken together, Acts One and Two and the Pro/Inter/Epilogues provide a rich tapestry of various kinds and outcomes of romantic love: friendships that blossom into more, chance encounters that reveal failings of past love, as well as the hope of new love; love gone stale and sour, and that persists for far too long, to the lovers’ detriment. Throughout all of these depictions of love, Cariani does not leave the audience/reader with any easy answers, but instead provides moments of recognition and empathy.

In many scenes in this play, characters, especially male characters, have trouble expressing themselves. Pete, while trying to express himself honestly, says the wrong thing, which leads to a missed opportunity, though it is perhaps rectified in the Epilogue. In his impulsiveness, East barely seems to understand his own actions or their motivations, much less be able to communicate them to Glory. Lendall, despite having taken action to move their relationship forward, has failed to indicate this in any way to Gayle, causing her to take drastic action.