The Salisbury High School Theatre Department will present “Almost, Maine” 7 p.m. Nov. 9, 10 and 11 and 3 p.m. Nov. 12 at the high school, 500 E. Montgomery St., Allentown.

The play, by John Cariani, is comprised of nine short plays involving love and loss in a small town in Maine called Almost, and premiered at the Portland Company in Portland, Maine in 2004.

“Most of the stories being told in plays (I saw) were city stories, mostly about wealthy, worldly, powerful, well-educated people who live and worked in the closed quarters of the concrete and steel canyons,” Cariani said in an interview with Playbill.

“This was thrilling because the city and its stories and its people were new to me. But, I started to get sick of those stories. What about rural stories? What about stories about the people I grew up with? I always wanted to write stories that featured characters that could be played by people who aren‘t hot. I wanted to see regular people get the girl. Or guy.”

This romantic comedy features characters Pete and Ginette who have been dating; a repairman named East; a hiker named Gloria; a heating and cooling guy named Jimmy; Jimmy’s ex-girlfriend Sandrine, a waitress; a woman named Marvalyn going through a rough time; a confused man named Steve; a very flustered woman named Gayle; an understanding man named Lendall; two down-to-earth country boys Randy and Chad; a working man and his wife Phil and Marci; a world traveler named Hope and a man who has not traveled; a tough woman named Rhonda and a not-so-tough man who loves Rhonda named Dave.

Cast members include Johnny Nguyen, Margaret Carl, Angela Harrison, Owen Mendes, Dezi Correa, Connor Zamora, Kayla Trenge, Sophie Ravenelle, Kyleigh Vicoso, Josh Kim, Sara Lamana and William Perkins.

The director of the show is Will Windsor Erwin who also handled the costumes.

Assistant director is student Abbey Correll.

Stage managers are Rory Watson and Hanna Martin.

Scenic design is by Chris West and lighting design is by Scott Ross.

A large number of students participated in the crew for this show including, Shayna Trinidad, Shane Donaldson, Ariana Tavarez, Nicole Reyes, Joe Zellin, Hanna Martin, Padraig Shay, Kobe McCloud, Hana Schimeneck, Angela Acosta, Rory Watson, Rebecca Aungst, Brogan Shay, Maggie Eckhart, Laura Talaber, Duncan Yankovich, Jessica Nguyen, Paige Zosky, Ryann Thomson and Kieran Connelly.

Seniors involved with the production had an opportunity to talk with The Press about “Almost, Maine.”

Mendes said the play “is cute and sweet. The audience will leave with an ‘ahh’ feeling.”

This is the second production Kim has participated in with the drama club. “Everyone will be able to relate. It feels very authentic,” Kim said.

Aungst has participated in six productions with the Salisbury Drama Club. “It’s a good way to make friends; we are always laughing,” Aungst said.

“This is a very contemporary play,” Ravenelle said. “It has been special. The audience will be able to connect with this show more than others.”

“It is a bunch of small stories - each relating to the bigger theme. It is easy to follow,” Zamora said. “This is the first play I’ve been in. I’m excited for it but I’m bummed because it is my first and one of my last shows. It will be a great show.”

For Kobe, being involved with the drama club for three shows has been a great experience. He got involved because he wanted to get a feel of producing a show and working behind the scenes. “Being on crew is very time consuming. There is a lot of passion in what we do. I’ve learned better socialization and I’ve learned how to build and handle equipment and props.”

Martin said the play is a “wintry, contemporary play. The audience will be able to connect with it more because of our current weather.”

This is the first time Nguyen has acted as he was a member of the crew for last year’s productions. “It’s very unique; something I didn’t think I would do. It’s a fun experience and you get to meet a bunch of great people. Theater is where everyone can be themselves.”

“I’m extremely proud of everyone involved for their bravery and compassion,” Erwin said. The amount of openness and honesty required to bring a play like this to life is immense and these students worked diligently to tell the story. I feel they hit the mark. Not just ‘almost, ‘but exactly.”

Tickets can be purchased at the door or by visiting salisburytheatre@salisburysd.org.