YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – “Almost, Maine” may be a popular part of the community theater repertoire, but it also draws its share of criticism.

Actors and audiences have called it clichéd and predictable.

Mario Ricciardi, who is directing the show at the Youngstown Playhouse, has heard those complaints – and is using them as inspiration.

“[They say] it’s too cute, too sweet, trite,” Ricciardi said. “To that, we said ‘challenge accepted.’”

A two-weekend run of “Almost, Maine,” by John Cariani, opens Friday, June 6,  in the Playhouse’s Moyer Room. It’s the final production of the theater’s centennial season.

The play is set in the fictional and remote town of Almost, Maine, on a cold winter night with the aurora borealis dancing in the sky.

The offbeat citizens go through all the emotions of relationships in a series of loosely connected vignettes. Each tale is cloaked in a sense of the mystical.

Ricciardi and his cast have taken a deeper look at the dialogue and are bringing the characters into sharper focus and away from stereotype.

“Our goal is to dig down and find a rural populace that’s made up of people living on the fringes of society – and in a sense, America itself,” Ricciardi said. “And I’m especially excited because without changing any dialogue or the script, we’ve been able to rework the endings of some scenes to better display the melancholy and nuance in life.”

The result, he said, is more believable and real.

“Traditionally, the show’s message is presented as something close to ‘people fall in and out of love,’ and that can range from heartwarming or heartbreaking, maybe even funny,” Ricciardi said. “Our aim is to remind the audience that people on the fringes are capable of feeling as deeply as anyone. They do not deserve to be dismissed.” 

Though “Almost, Maine” is often done with a small cast in which a few characters play multiple characters, Ricciardi went in the other direction.

There are 16 actors in the cast, playing 19 roles. Only a few play more than one character.

“It can go either way,” Ricciardi said of the decision directors must make on whether to have actors play multiple roles. “It’s another part of what makes the show so widely popular and accessible.”

Ricciardi said he wanted to maximize the available opportunities for the actors who auditioned and also give the audience a fresh perspective with each vignette. 

The cast includes Brian Suchora, Brenda Hickman, Thomas Kushner, Marina Shelton, Faith Boardman, Mitchell Tokar, Marissa Scott, McKenna Lago, Allison Bye, Terri Norling, Sydney Stalnecker, Collin Goddard, Matthew Reighard, Raquel Allison, Jennifer Carr and Adam Michael.

Shawn Lockaton is the stage manager.

Shelton is one of the cast members who is handling more than one role, playing the parts of Sandrine and Rhonda.

She describes both characters as being “at the edge of something changing, whether they’re ready or not.”

In Sandrine’s vignette, the character runs into an ex at a bar, and they’re suddenly face-to-face with everything that had been left unsaid for years.

“I won’t spoil it, but let’s just say it gets real,” Shelton said.

The character Rhonda is “a no-nonsense, outdoorsy girl who’s always kept things light with her best friend, until feelings start to shift in a way neither of them saw coming,” Shelton said.

Working on the show has been “a creative ride,” she said. “It’s got comedy, but there’s also a lot of heart woven in, which makes it really fun to dig into,” she noted.

Shelton credited Ricciardi with getting the most out of the script and the actors.

“Mario’s approach has been such a gift,” she said. “He brings a clear vision to the work but also leaves space for us to explore. He’ll ask a question or offer a thought that shifts your perspective, and suddenly the scene just opens up. That kind of freedom and direction made it feel like a true collaboration, and it really brought out the best in all of us.”

Shelton said the director “knows how to make the funny stuff work without missing the real parts.”

The production marks Ricciardi’s debut at the Playhouse as a director or an actor.

But he has already become known as a filmmaker. Last year, Ricciardi released his first film, “Midwest Sessions,” which he wrote and directed.

He is currently filming his second feature film, which he expects to release at the end of next year.

“Almost, Maine” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. June 6-7 and 13-14; and 2:30 p.m. June 8 and 15. For tickets, click HERE.

Pictured at top: Terri Norling and Brian Suchora in a scenę from the Youngstown Playhouse’s production of “Almost, Maine.”