Dearborn Players Guild Takes a Trip to 'Almost, Maine'

When Dearborn actor and director Paul Bruce first read the script for Almost, Maine, he knew right away that he wanted the Players Guild of Dearborn to produce it.

And as the director of the show, which opens this weekend, he got his wish.

“I championed the cause on this particular show because I fell in love with the script,” said Bruce, who is also a history and geography teacher at .

And he’s not the only one. For the 19 roles in the show, nearly 50 actors came to auditions. The result, Bruce said, is a stellar cast of quirky characters in a total of nine scenes, each with two people in it.

“The results are these delightfully, wonderfully crafted scenes,” Bruce said. “Because the actors had only one scene to work on, the quality of performances is very high and you get this whole fresh, new show every scene.”

Almost, Maine follows the concurrent love stories of a series of couples, all of whom live in the same town.

“The whole theme is that people are falling in love, out of love, realizing that they’re right for each other,” Bruce explained. “And the realization seconds of all these quirks of love are all happening at the same time.”

Bruce said planning the show has been a delight–but oddly enough, he’s never seen it in action. And he doesn’t want to–at least not until his production is done.

“Apparently, this show has been done everywhere and I’ve just never seen it,” he said with a laugh. “I didn’t look at any of it because I didn’t want to copy anybody else’s work, so I just treated it like a brand new work and developed it from there.”

And starting March 2, audiences will get to see Bruce’s fresh interpretation live at the .

But bring a tissue, Bruce warns–for tears of both laughter and sadness.

“Some scenes are hilarious, others are heartbreaking,” he teased. “It’s wonderful to have that range in one show.”

Almost, Maine

Days/times: March 2-18; Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m.

Location: Players Guild of Dearborn Theater, 21730 Madison Street

Tickets: $15, available by calling 313.561.8587, or online at www.playersguildofdearborn.org.