Showcasing small-town wonders in his play 'Almost, Maine'

Barlow Adamson (left) and Elaine Theodore in John Cariani's "Almost, Maine," now getting its Boston-area premiere. (craig bailey/perspective photo)

One of the reasons John Cariani wrote "Almost, Maine," his collection of linked playlets set in a fictitious remote northern Maine town, was because he wanted to see a play about smart people that wasn't set in a city.

"It puzzled me, because playwrights like Thornton Wilder and Tennessee Williams wrote plays about places that weren't citified. Sam Shepard, too," says Cariani by phone from a Disney World condo in Florida, where he's visiting. "When I moved to New York I noticed that there were lots of plays about New Yorkers. There's such confidence in city people -- and that's wonderful -- but I also love the humility and the sense of wonder that people who aren't from cities have."

SpeakEasy Stage Company is presenting the work's Boston-area premiere, directed by producing artistic director Paul Daigneault, starting tonight at the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. The show received its world premiere at Portland Stage Company in 2004 and last year transferred to off-Broadway, where one reviewer called it "the perfect date play."

Cariani, who was nominated for a Tony for his portrayal of Motel in the 2004 revival of "Fiddler on the Roof," says his upbringing in Presque Isle, Maine, gave him a sense of the remoteness of the place and the way people there think.

"There's an ache there, when you can't get everything you want," he says. "The sky is very big and weather is very large, and you're aware of how small people are."

In the eight vignettes that make up "Almost," four actors -- Barlow Adamson , Kevin Kalinsky , Maureen Keiller , and Elaine Theodore -- play young small-town residents trying to make connections, and doing a strange job of it. All the vignettes take place at 9 p.m. on the same cold, clear Friday night. There's a touch of magic realism to the proceedings -- and a surprising number of bags: A woman carries one around that she says contains the shards of her broken heart. Another drags into her boyfriend's apartment bag after bag containing her love for him and then demands he likewise return the love she gave him. He gives her one very tiny pouch. Ouch.

Cariani says he's aware of the dangers of "Almost" being played cute. "It's important to play it cleanly and simply and earnestly.

"It's fun for me watching people sit through the first act and think they are seeing something simple and sweet and funny and light," he says. "And then it goes and takes a turn in the second half and it becomes something a little sadder, a little darker."

"Almost, Maine" runs through March 10 at the Roberts Studio Theatre in the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion. Tickets: $14-$46. 617-933-8600, bostontheatrescene.com

Award-winning playwright and screenwriter Suzan-Lori Parks will speak with Massachusetts Institute of Technology assistant professor Jay Scheib in a public conversation on Wednesday at MIT. Parks will be a visiting artist at the university from Tuesday through Thursday, working with faculty, staff, and students. Broad Institute's Auditorium, 7 Cambridge Center, MIT Room NE30-1154. The event is free, and seating is first-come, first-served. 617-253-2787.

The multitalented Robbie McCauley originated the role of Clara in the 1976 New York Shakespeare Festival production of Adrienne Kennedy's "A Movie Star Has to Star in Black and White." Now an associate drama professor at Emerson College, McCauley is directing the play for Emerson Stage, Thursday through Feb. 24 . Semel Theater, 10 Boylston Place. Tickets: $14. 617-824-8369, ticketweb.com.

Queer Soup will present a one-night performance of "Home," an original work, on Monday night to raise funds for the company's upcoming educational tour, which aims to raise awareness about transgender and queer identity issues. Boston Playwrights' Theatre. Tickets (suggested donation $20) can be purchased at the door or by reservation at 617-824-4297, queersoup.net.