It was February 12th and there was no place I would rather be than watching the Lafayette Theatre production of Almost, Maine, a play written by John Cariana. The play is a collection of short acts that introduce couples and explore love and loss. The play takes place in a make-believe town Almost, Maine. It was the perfect play for the weekend of Valentine’s Day. Seeing romantic comedy was the perfect date or social group outing, as many of the acts can relate to anyone, and provided some comedic relief to our lives.

Lafayette Theater put on a perfect adaptation of the romantic comedy, Almost, Maine, as a fundraiser before the spring musical in April. The way the students interacted with each other and the way the scenes were set up, you would never know it was a high school production. However, we expect nothing less from 2-time defending theater states champions. With a young group of kids participating in theater, we expect many more years of success. Davis Brewer joined theater this year for the spring musical and instantly found success, and second year theater student Madison Walk put on a spectacular performance in the production of Almost, Maine.

First year theater student, Davis Brewer, decided to take up theater in his junior year at Lafayette. We asked Davis Brewer what theater meant to him, he responded, “As taking a break from theater from 8th grade you know, I never thought about coming back, but my decision to come back has been very time consuming and I didn’t know how to feel. But the atmosphere of the family has made me reignite my love for theater.” Davis Brewer was a theater advocate in middle school, but with the pressures of high school many kids  do not choose to continue theater once they enter high school. However, Davis took the leap of faith and has found instant success as a main character in the small production of Almost, Maine. When asked what the preparation of the production, Brewer responded, “Almost, Maine was a small production and didn’t take much rehearsal time, it was a side project for the main musical. It was very individual with the groups and was brought together in the last week, I was contemplating on if we could perform well, but in the end it turned out perfectly.” With the rehearsal for the spring musical, the theater program did not have much time to rehearse the play in-between rehearsals for the spring musical. However, it seemed that the play was the main production of the year. 

Second year theater student, and 2-time theater state champion, Madison Walk, talks about her experience on the theater team and what this play means to her. Walk declared, “Theater has been a home away from home for the past two years. Coming into high school during COVID-19 and having to do school online it can be hard to find friends and your place in the school, however the theater group accepted me immediately and instantly welcomed me to their family.” High school is a hard place as a freshman and with the lack of interaction last year, theater helped her find her place in the school and even win her a ring. Madison Walk was given a lead role in the Almost, Maine and when asked about it, Walk said, “It was very stressful having to practice my lead role and memorize lines for Almost, Maine but also bring my all to the rehearsal for the Spring Musical. It led to a lot of long days and weekends of rehearsal, but in the end the play turned out great and I was happy with my performance.” Madison Walk played her role perfectly and we look forward to seeing what she has to bring to the Spring Musical.

The Lafayette Theatre team will perform Guys and Dolls starting on April 28th and having the last performance on April 30th. Guys and Dolls, unlike Almost, Maine, is a musical and will be an interesting adaptation for the theater program. We have seen their acting skills, but their singing skills are yet to be seen. Tickets for the play are already on sale and with the performance of the production,  Almost, Maine, the spring musical is set to be another spectacular theater performance and the perfect end of the year.