What do you think?
Rate this book
Almost, Maine
Welcome to Almost, Maine, a place that's so far north, it's almost not in the United States. It's almost in Canada. And it's not quite a town, because its residents never got around to getting organized. So it almost doesn't exist. One cold, clear, winter night, as the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, the residents of Almost, Maine, find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and hilarious ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. But the bruises heal, and the hearts mend - almost - in this delightful midwinter night's dream.
75 pages, Paperback
First published May 30, 2007
13 people are currently reading
590 people want to read
About the author
John Cariani
12 books21 followersJohn Edward Cariani is an American actor and playwright. Cariani is best known as the unwavering forensic expert Julian Beck in Law & Order. On stage, he earned a Tony Award nomination for his role as Motel the Tailor in the 2004 Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof. As a playwright, he is best known for his first play, Almost, Maine, which has become one of the most frequently produced plays in the United States. He starred on Broadway in the Tony Award winning musicals Something Rotten! and The Band's Visit.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 201 reviews
November 23, 2016
I was a young man working the night shift in a gigantic hotel and the aging night auditor was a chain smoking Egyptian. He was near enough to retirement to be cactus-y inside and out. We liked each other right away and he mentored me in his own fashion.
“Do you read plays?"
“No."
“Really?! But you have to. Eugene O'Niell, he's fucking wonderful. You must read him. You have to read plays!"
I grew less young, he grew more old and years later he died.
I found myself reading plays, always with his Arab accent in my ears. "Read this, read that...read the Russians, you have to, they're really fucking great. And Hardy. You read Hardy don't you? No?!" A deep, long drag on his cigarette, followed by an abrupt exhale and, "What is wrong with you? I don't know. You have to read these things."
To this day I cannot read a play without smelling cigarette smoke and seeing him smile.
Almost, Maine is a play. Typically American, it is brimming with hope, passion and enthusiasm. A bit of hyperbole, a dash of corny. I loved it and it made me happy and a tad less unwise.
Galal, my old friend, I don't know if "Almost, Maine" is "fucking great". I confess it's not on a par with Chekov, but it is a playful play written with joyfulness and shill. I want you to know that I am still reading plays, and I still miss you.
“Do you read plays?"
“No."
“Really?! But you have to. Eugene O'Niell, he's fucking wonderful. You must read him. You have to read plays!"
I grew less young, he grew more old and years later he died.
I found myself reading plays, always with his Arab accent in my ears. "Read this, read that...read the Russians, you have to, they're really fucking great. And Hardy. You read Hardy don't you? No?!" A deep, long drag on his cigarette, followed by an abrupt exhale and, "What is wrong with you? I don't know. You have to read these things."
To this day I cannot read a play without smelling cigarette smoke and seeing him smile.
Almost, Maine is a play. Typically American, it is brimming with hope, passion and enthusiasm. A bit of hyperbole, a dash of corny. I loved it and it made me happy and a tad less unwise.
Galal, my old friend, I don't know if "Almost, Maine" is "fucking great". I confess it's not on a par with Chekov, but it is a playful play written with joyfulness and shill. I want you to know that I am still reading plays, and I still miss you.
October 2, 2014
I seriously think most people giving this high marks are commenting on the play itself rather than the writing job in this script. The play is lovely and all I can say is thank GOODNESS audiences can't see all the useless, poorly written drivel John Cariani insists on including within the script. If you can unearth the play itself from all the unnecessary commentary, congratulations, you're halfway there! Apparently Mr. Cariani didn't trust his writing to stand on its own and felt it necessary to include all sorts of extraneous information in the script. If you have to explain after a line what the joke is in that line, maybe you should rethink your writing style. Great play but lousy script in serious need of an editor.
November 15, 2016
You really probably shouldn't do this play because it is soooo overdone (the most-performed play in American high schools - beating all Shakespeare plays). I'm really disappointed that this is what we're producing the most. At least it's not terrible, but... there are so many truly great plays we can choose from!
Anyway, this play is cute but also kind of saccharine. And you're hearing this from someone who is very sentimental. It's like eating hard candy instead of dinner. And some of the characters and scenes are just so shallow, improbable, contrived, etc. The first and last scene are just plain stupid.
I think the reason cute, romantic scenes work in plays is because we earn them - with all the fear, pain, strife, worry, etc. that comes in the scenes before. Here, it's just instant gratification over and over and over (x8). You never work for the triumph, and it gets old fast.
A lot of the dialogue is well-written. But even setting critical opinions aside, the play is just WAAAAY too overdone. It should be banned for a couple years so that people will put out something fresh.
There is a scene with a gay couple and a scene where the characters pretty openly leave to have sex at the end, which will make this inappropriate for some audiences/ages.
Anyway, this play is cute but also kind of saccharine. And you're hearing this from someone who is very sentimental. It's like eating hard candy instead of dinner. And some of the characters and scenes are just so shallow, improbable, contrived, etc. The first and last scene are just plain stupid.
I think the reason cute, romantic scenes work in plays is because we earn them - with all the fear, pain, strife, worry, etc. that comes in the scenes before. Here, it's just instant gratification over and over and over (x8). You never work for the triumph, and it gets old fast.
A lot of the dialogue is well-written. But even setting critical opinions aside, the play is just WAAAAY too overdone. It should be banned for a couple years so that people will put out something fresh.
There is a scene with a gay couple and a scene where the characters pretty openly leave to have sex at the end, which will make this inappropriate for some audiences/ages.
January 6, 2011
Loved it! It's like a box of 8 delicious truffles. This collection, book-ended with plays involving the same characters, takes common expressions about love and dramatizes them, like having a "broken heart," and waiting for the "other shoe to drop" in love, and getting "weak in the knees" due to love. It is a charming, old fashioned valentine, but not old fashioned as in dated. No, not at all. Just . . charming.
December 29, 2024
hoo boy. i know people like this play, but after reading it in full, i like it less than i did directing a scene two years ago.
First off, the good: I teared up at scene 4. character interactions felt so nuanced. there’s a little bit of the supernatural which always leads to an interesting turn (for better or worse) which sets every scene apart and makes it so charming. in the stories that end bittersweet, i really feel for both characters (see: Story of Hope and Where It Went).
Here’s my problem: this show is definitely a novel adaptation and it shows. the stage directions, which sometimes border on prose pieces, hold your hand and tell you when to take a beat and the intention behind many lines. he even gives a note in the back about language, “encourage your actors to talk the way people talk.” and tells the set designers how to transition and recreate the northern lights. SIR! you’re not the director!! there’s not much room for director interpretation unless you wanna literally change the script.
ironically, it kinda feels like carliani wants you to do that. a couple times he basically goes “hey, depending on your actors, you should change this line.” also there’s literally two versions of the prologue and epilogue. it seems like carliani wants flexibile casting but it sort of comes across like cariani couldn’t decide
other thoughts: the guy who got rejected by a girl named Hope says “I lost a lotta Hope.” i might be an English major, but that’s not subtle at all. also dave would be so wholesome if he wasn’t a creep. he just starts kissing rhonda and doesn’t stop and when she goes “man, i’ve never been with anyone before,” he goes “that’s kinda neat; give me a kiss.” HUH???
i’m so sorry to those who like Almost Maine (like i said, when the show is good, it’s GOOD), but after reading this show, i’m left trying to figure out if this show is better read or seen. on paper, the author’s intentions are a little too clear, which i feel like could stifle different interpretations of the show. on the other hand, Carliani seems to be chill with certain changes to the script, which could lead to some cool interpretations? all in all, carliani feels like a backseat director in his own script.
edit: so it turns out that Cariani also wrote the book, and man it makes SO MUCH sense. this guy totally went “this is my literary baby and i want my interpretation to last but also give space for other directors but not that much space”
edit 2: so it took me 10 months to realize that Cariani wrote the book *after* he wrote the play, not before. Apologies for the misinformation, but my original point still stands.
First off, the good: I teared up at scene 4. character interactions felt so nuanced. there’s a little bit of the supernatural which always leads to an interesting turn (for better or worse) which sets every scene apart and makes it so charming. in the stories that end bittersweet, i really feel for both characters (see: Story of Hope and Where It Went).
Here’s my problem: this show is definitely a novel adaptation and it shows. the stage directions, which sometimes border on prose pieces, hold your hand and tell you when to take a beat and the intention behind many lines. he even gives a note in the back about language, “encourage your actors to talk the way people talk.” and tells the set designers how to transition and recreate the northern lights. SIR! you’re not the director!! there’s not much room for director interpretation unless you wanna literally change the script.
ironically, it kinda feels like carliani wants you to do that. a couple times he basically goes “hey, depending on your actors, you should change this line.” also there’s literally two versions of the prologue and epilogue. it seems like carliani wants flexibile casting but it sort of comes across like cariani couldn’t decide
other thoughts: the guy who got rejected by a girl named Hope says “I lost a lotta Hope.” i might be an English major, but that’s not subtle at all. also dave would be so wholesome if he wasn’t a creep. he just starts kissing rhonda and doesn’t stop and when she goes “man, i’ve never been with anyone before,” he goes “that’s kinda neat; give me a kiss.” HUH???
i’m so sorry to those who like Almost Maine (like i said, when the show is good, it’s GOOD), but after reading this show, i’m left trying to figure out if this show is better read or seen. on paper, the author’s intentions are a little too clear, which i feel like could stifle different interpretations of the show. on the other hand, Carliani seems to be chill with certain changes to the script, which could lead to some cool interpretations? all in all, carliani feels like a backseat director in his own script.
edit: so it turns out that Cariani also wrote the book, and man it makes SO MUCH sense. this guy totally went “this is my literary baby and i want my interpretation to last but also give space for other directors but not that much space”
edit 2: so it took me 10 months to realize that Cariani wrote the book *after* he wrote the play, not before. Apologies for the misinformation, but my original point still stands.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2019
A lovely, wonderful little play that I thoroughly enjoyed. This play is a series of vignettes all about love. A romantic look at couples in various stages of love, set in a town called Almost, Maine. These events all happen at the same moment in time on the same night. I loved this play tremendously.
April 20, 2020
whew i LOVED this. it was beautiful and cozy and heartbreaking all at once, and most prominently, extremely human. i’m definitely going to be visiting this many times over again
November 9, 2017
John Cariani's first play is cute. It examines different couples and strangers in the fictional town of Almost, Maine. There are approximately 8-10 different stories that are only connected by the town and that the action occurs on a Friday night.
Some of the stories are cute and some are groaners coated with saccharine awfulness. But at the end, I think I would walk away with my chest organ a little bit warmer if I were to see this. I cannot see a high school or community production doing this play as it was intended with only 2 actors and 2 actresses (more cast members = more audience members) but I think that would be one hell of a challenge that would be interesting to see/act in.
I much prefer Cariani's 'Last Gas' (my favorite play read in 2017) but yea, Almost Maine is cute and has some challenging dialogue I believe.
3.5/5 stars
Some of the stories are cute and some are groaners coated with saccharine awfulness. But at the end, I think I would walk away with my chest organ a little bit warmer if I were to see this. I cannot see a high school or community production doing this play as it was intended with only 2 actors and 2 actresses (more cast members = more audience members) but I think that would be one hell of a challenge that would be interesting to see/act in.
I much prefer Cariani's 'Last Gas' (my favorite play read in 2017) but yea, Almost Maine is cute and has some challenging dialogue I believe.
3.5/5 stars
July 11, 2021
This is... not a good play. Boring, interchangeable characters who have gender stereotypes instead of personalities and so much low-key sexism it's like a David Mamet play without the swearing. More appendixes than a Tolkien novel but nowhere near as helpful or interesting. Bland, pointless observations about love that, for all Cariani's insistence that his work isn't sentimental, not only devolve quickly into sentiment, but wallow there, often painfully, but mostly just without anything worthwhile to say. The most interesting thing about the piece is by far the setting, and I wish he'd written a play about THAT, about how a place can affect and form our ideas about the world, each other, love. But instead we just get variations on a theme that's really more just a cop out on having any actual ideas to share.
October 31, 2019
This is a play of eight vignettes and a transition piece. Each of the vignettes happens simultaneously in the evening of a night on which the northern lights appear in a small town in Maine. Cariani loves to use puns and literal metaphors: in one during a marital spat the wife cannot find her shoe and at the moment of realization it drops from overhead (the other shoe dropped); in one other a woman with a broken heart carries it around in a paperbag and "accidentally" keeps giving the bag to the man (he declares his love for her in the end). Some of the vignettes are really quite touching, but a few of them are just kitschy and over "cute". That might just be because I am sensitive to these kinds of puns. I am curious to see it put on; oftentimes what looks silly on paper can come off much better if done well, but the script did not make me want to audition.
March 7, 2024
i have a few scattered thoughts
- boy howdy to people in this world kiss fast
- this is the type of show that i can just *tell* was written by a man, and to balance it out it should be directed by a women
- i do truly love this show with a few gripes on the specificity the author puts into the stage directions. there’s not a lot of room for actors to find there own beats other than the ones prescribed to them, and that may lead to a less natural feeling performance (basically ditto to what my friend lindsey said)
- i Love how the scenes all nod to each other. whenever a character comes up outside of their screen it’s a “i know that guy!” moment
- boy howdy to people in this world kiss fast
- this is the type of show that i can just *tell* was written by a man, and to balance it out it should be directed by a women
- i do truly love this show with a few gripes on the specificity the author puts into the stage directions. there’s not a lot of room for actors to find there own beats other than the ones prescribed to them, and that may lead to a less natural feeling performance (basically ditto to what my friend lindsey said)
- i Love how the scenes all nod to each other. whenever a character comes up outside of their screen it’s a “i know that guy!” moment
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2021
A very cute and absurd theatrical piece about love. Nine vignettes set in the not-town of Almost, Maine which illuminate the myriad expressions and encounters we have with love. I appreciated the sense of ordinariness the people had. Furthermore, Cariani underscores a host of difficulties - situational, personal, interpersonal, societal, emotional, psychological, etc - in the realization of love.
July 23, 2023
“...the sentimental person thinks things will last—the romantic person has a desperate confidence that they won’t.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald
Almost, Maine is for romantics—not sentimentalists.
Wow, oh wow. I loved reading this. Review to come.
Read
June 9, 2017My class read and acted out these funny short plays within this amazing book. I would recommend this book to anyone entering a drama class or want to pursue their passion in theatre. Start off with Almost, Maine.
June 13, 2023
poetic and sweet.
john cariani however is obsessed with himself and the script is often redundant because of it.
nevertheless complicated romances never fail to win me over and i’d love to direct this or be in it one day. and i love the gay scene.
john cariani however is obsessed with himself and the script is often redundant because of it.
nevertheless complicated romances never fail to win me over and i’d love to direct this or be in it one day. and i love the gay scene.
June 1, 2021
I love this play!
September 19, 2024
Absolutely beautiful.
Read
December 15, 2024Oops! Accidentally filled out the novel version, not the play!
Anywho, I love when playwrights mix the supernatural with the universal experience in a really lovely blended way. I just wish each tableau got treated with the same amount of love.
Anywho, I love when playwrights mix the supernatural with the universal experience in a really lovely blended way. I just wish each tableau got treated with the same amount of love.
September 10, 2025
Quick reading assignment for theater class, I thought it was cute. I've only read about three plays, so not much to go off of for script writing standards.
March 18, 2020
Beautiful story full of wonderful metaphors. Reading this as the Covid-19 virus sweeps the world. It would be a great production to start with, once our theatres open again.
Read
July 21, 2023i’m behind on my goodreads challenge please don’t hate me!
July 2, 2020
I read this while watching a “zoom “ production of this for charity ! The production had some differences from the script . I’ve also read the YA novel based off this play , which I actually enjoyed more ! (But I still rated this 5 stars as well as it’s just a tiny bit more )
July 28, 2023
Deeply cute but nothing groundbreaking — I understand its high school performance popularity. I thought I was rereading this but now I'm almost positive I hadn't before. I imagine it's far more interesting live, and it felt like one of those plays where you really can't help but picture the whole stage while you read.
July 15, 2025
funny, sweet, surprising. not particularly profound but i do think i’d be moved to see this on stage. the surrealism (the setting, the magic moments, the literalism of common love metaphors) keeps the scenes from being TOO corny.
January 26, 2024
I read this for my acting class and it definitely impressed me. I think that all the stories were so cute and I loved how they were all tied together with the northern lights. Hopefully one day I’ll have the pleasure of seeing this live!
September 28, 2020
JIMMY: How would I have heard?
SANDRINE: Well, you know... people talk.
JIMMY: Not about things they know you don't wanna hear, they don't. And I gotta be honest with you: That's not somethin' I woulda wanted to hear.
SANDRINE: Well, you know... people talk.
JIMMY: Not about things they know you don't wanna hear, they don't. And I gotta be honest with you: That's not somethin' I woulda wanted to hear.
February 8, 2015
"See, to be a town, you gotta get organised, so... we're just Almost."Clearly I had to read this for a drama assignment, and I'm sort of more at a rating of 2.5 stars right now, however a little closer to 3.
While the play was incredibly short, it was fairly impacting. Although the scenes seemed to repeat themselves in some factor or another, it was sweet to read about. A lot of the stories within the play contained metaphor upon metaphor, and I really enjoyed deciphering it all. It was not a difficult script to read at all seeing as I was able to read it during one sitting, and a quick 'sitting' at that (which is incredibly rare for me).
"you can be hurt and not even look like it. Trust me. There are things that hurt you that make you bruised and bloody and there are things that hurt you that don't make you bruised and bloody and... they all hurt."The characters were interesting and quirky, the dialogue mildly funny yet unusually meaningful. I saw my school perform this play last year and I must say now that I've read it they really did do a fantastic job at interpreting it (especially considering they're all in high school).
Overall if you're interested in scripts I recommend it, and if you're not that type and you ever hear of the play being performed near you, I recommend you also go see it. There's nothing particularly life changing about it, but it will be a nice experience.
January 11, 2015
[This review is being written over a year after reading the book--apparently I never wrote one or Goodreads lost it]
Read this because a local theatre was opening their 2014 season with it and I wanted to see if there was a role in it for me.
Loved the script, but ended up not auditioning for it and (sadly) not even seeing it.
The play is a collection of 9 different scenes set in the fictional town of Almost, ME. Each vignette is about love and some connect with others. The show can be done with a small 2M, 2F cast since each scene is 2 (or 3) people. Or you can have a cast of up to almost 20.
I'm really sad I didn't find time to audition or even see this play locally last year. It was magic reading it and probably could have been even better to be a part of or seen.
Read this because a local theatre was opening their 2014 season with it and I wanted to see if there was a role in it for me.
Loved the script, but ended up not auditioning for it and (sadly) not even seeing it.
The play is a collection of 9 different scenes set in the fictional town of Almost, ME. Each vignette is about love and some connect with others. The show can be done with a small 2M, 2F cast since each scene is 2 (or 3) people. Or you can have a cast of up to almost 20.
I'm really sad I didn't find time to audition or even see this play locally last year. It was magic reading it and probably could have been even better to be a part of or seen.
October 18, 2012
Very corny, yet very accessible. John Cariani includes copious instructions throughout the script for people who may not have a lot of experience. Each scene is predicated on a simple set of character traits and usually a single, clear objective. It's great go-to source material for a beginning acting class. Fully produced productions are sure to be more memorable than the actual script, which is pretty thin. This is the kind of material that needs an abundance of creativity and personality to really make it sing.
January 12, 2012
You have to be careful with this play: Cariani himself describes it as "almost bad". If you don't quite understand it, take it too seriously or not seriously enough, it will seem saccharine and ridiculous. If you read it properly or, better yet, see it performed by a really good cast, it will be brilliant and tender.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 201 reviews