Andrea Odle

No place like Mud Creek ‘4’ the holidays

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By John Lyle Belden

For those who don’t know, “X” is, aside from part of the English alphabet, the Greek letter “Chi,” which is traditionally used as a shorthand for “Christ,” thus making “Xmas” an acceptable abbreviation for the holiday. In American vernacular, of course, using that spelling usually indicates a less-serious take than any formal religious celebration.

Behold “4 X’mas,” a collection of five works (four short plays and a monologue) by George Cameron Grant, presented by Mud Creek Players through the first weekend of December.

Grant is a popular playwright and “hope peddler” (according to his website) notable for his one-acts. In fact, one of the pieces in the current production – about a set of tree ornaments in their cardboard box – may be familiar to those who saw it in a past edition of the “Phoenix Xmas” show.  

Directed by Andrea Odle, the cast of Rina Baker, Mary Garner, Mason Odle, Oscar Otero, Jennifer Poynter, and Jurrell Spencer charm their way through various holiday-themed happenings.

  • Baker and Spencer get caught up in each other after an “Office Party,” but what will happen when Richard (Otero) comes home?
  • Redemption comes to Hell’s Kitchen in “Santa’s Clara” as a teen on her own (Garner) encounters a shabby Santa Claus (Mason Odle) who knows her too well.
  • In “The First Noel,” a homeless woman (Baker) tells of her life full of “zingers” and how she can’t return to her childhood home, unless it’s for Chinese take-out.
  • As noted, there are some holiday “Balls” (Baker, Garner, Odle, Otero, Poynter) waking up early from their storage space to find how fragile their existence truly is.
  • Finally, “Santa Comes to the King David” brings together – at the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge – a helpful woman (Garner) and a man (Odle) whose holiday tradition has been to play Santa Claus at the Hannukah Bush in a home for Jewish seniors. This includes a sweet appearance by Poynter as his Jewish “aunt.”

Their performances in these little plays deliver a sense of whimsy and romance with hilarity and heart. Some innuendo gets a bit PG, but otherwise this is a great holiday show for everyone.

Andrea Odle is assisted by Lexi Odle-Stollings, with Kathy Jacobs as stage manager. Costumes are by Judy McGroarty with props by Jessica Raine.

Take some time “4 X’mas,” Friday through Sunday, Nov. 28-30 and Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 4-6 at the Mud Creek Players Barn, 9740 E. 86th St., Indianapolis. Get info and tickets at mudcreekplayers.org.

‘Mockingbird’ has its say in Carmel

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By John Lyle Belden

Nineteen-thirty-five was 90 years ago, approaching a century, and aspects of our culture then still linger with us today. That’s why “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the novel by Harper Lee (inspired by her childhood), is still important.

Its stage play, dramatized by Christopher Sergel, is on the stage of The Cat in Carmel, produced by Carmel Community Players, directed by Andrea Odle. It’s notable that we don’t have to help promote this as opening night was sold out and ticket sales are brisk for the rest of the run, through Sunday, Sept. 21, including both a matinee and evening performance on the 20th. We know why this story is important; read on for a refresher and to meet those bringing it to life.

Jean Louise Finch (Ashley Sherman) is our narrator and guide to the events of that fateful year in Maycomb, Alabama, memorable for her as a little girl known as “Scout” (Rylee Odle), her slightly older brother Jeremy “Jem” Finch (Drake Smith) and their friend Dill (Jackson Odle-Stollings).  

Scout and Jem’s father is Atticus Finch (Kent Phillips), a middle-aged lawyer who doesn’t appear to do much more than occupy an office all day – embarrassingly sedate to his active children. But they come to learn the man is so much more, with growing respect and pride, when Judge Taylor (David Dessauer) assigns Atticus the defense of Tom Robinson (Jurrell Spencer), a Black man accused of attacking and raping Mayella (Samantha Lewis), a white teen and daughter of unsavory character Bob Ewell (Mark Jackson), who made the accusation.

Sheriff Heck Tate (Mike Sosnowski) is a good friend of Atticus and maintains a neutral if not covertly empathetic attitude towards the accused. We see the same from kindly neighbor Miss Maude Atkinson (Mary Garner). Others are quick to condemn – the N-word is said quite a bit, though sadly appropriate to the setting. This includes town busybody Miss Stephanie Crawford (Jeanne Lewis); poor farmer Mr. Cunningham (Dwayne Lewis) – the irony of him being a past client of Atticus will come into play; and especially the bitter old neighbor Mrs. Dubose (Jean Adams), which will lead to an important life lesson for Jem.

Jada Moon is stern but compassionate Calpurnia, the Finch cook and maternal figure to the children. Austin Uebelhor is Nathan Radley of the house next door, with the big tree with the knot-hole; he cares for his mysterious brother, “Boo,” who never comes out. Sidney Blake is the Rev. Sykes of the local Black church, minister to Tom Robinson and his wife, Helen (Trinity Pruitt). Jim Jamriska plays Mr. Gilmer, the county Prosecutor, smugly confident in his case. Thomas Amick’s roles include Tom’s boss and the Clerk of the court.

Scout, through whose eyes and memories we see this, is one who matures in her sense of fairness from scrappy to a more gentle understanding, which we see in the performances of Sherman and Rylee Odle. At moments they are even in unison, reflecting the child/woman dichotomy of the character in the book. Rylee’s Scout shows flashes of intuition and a (at one point literally) disarming sense of kindness, while Sherman shows how she hasn’t fundamentally changed not only in her continuing quest to understand 1935, but also her still wearing overalls instead of a dress in 1960 (excellent costuming throughout by Karen Cones).

Children being played by young adults doesn’t prove distracting as all three commit to naively childish personae, including Smith’s impulsive Jem and Odle-Stolling’s eccentric imaginative Dill. (The latter character is based on Lee’s childhood friend, Truman Capote.) Andrea Odle said that casting them, including her daughter Rylee, made it easier to have the characters repeat racially offensive terms, as well as better understand the play’s context.

Phillips brings a nuanced and complex approach to Atticus, his every word and action well considered, his courtroom manner dense with gravitas. Sosnowski brings a complimentary sense of companionship as Tate, while ever aware of his role in events as a guardian of safety and order. Spencer makes the most of his time at trial to make Tom’s case to the jury and to us.

Even the more broadly-drawn characters are solid. Moon incorporates mothering into Calpurnia’s role, avoiding caricature so that even in Jean Louise’s remarks on her disciplining the children, she is remembered fondly. Blake as the Reverend is an appropriate pillar of strength. Jamriska’s Gilmer is slick, grinning as he works a system that practically guaranteed him a win. Jackson’s violently dangerous Bob Ewell is scarily effective, while Samantha Lewis achingly plays a girl trapped by multiple factors including abuse, social stigma, isolation, and the limits of an uneducated mind. Adams, fierce and unrelenting, gives us little to like so we only have Atticus to trust in reasons for his compassion. Uebelhor shows mastery over his brief appearances, especially at the play’s climax.

Odle-Stollings is assistant director, and Amy Buel is stage manager. Simple yet effective sets were designed and built by the Odle family.

Performances are at The Cat, 254 Veterans Way in the heart of downtown Carmel. In the time you’ve read this review, more tickets were sold. See if any are left at carmelplayers.org.

Mud Creek drama worth the ‘Wait’

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By John Lyle Belden

One thing that tends to be tricky in live theatre is suspense. This is why the thriller “Wait Until Dark” by Frederick Knott is a popular choice for community companies, like the present production at Mud Creek Players, directed by Andrea Odle.

A pair of ex-cons are searching for a particular priceless doll – valuable not for its porcelain face or music box, but for also containing a highly valuable stash of uncut heroin. The woman bringing it into the country passed it to an unsuspecting photographer, Sam (Zachary Thompson), and her accomplices Mike (JB Scoble) and Carlino (Trever Brown) are in his lower-level apartment searching for it. However, the person who called them to be there is Mr. Roat (Kelly Keller), who has smoothly taken charge of the entire caper.

Sam’s wife Susy (Lexi Odle-Stollings) comes home and our criminals note that she is blind, so they can easily evade her. She hears something, and notices furniture has been moved, but blames it on Gloria (Evelyn Odom), the bratty girl who lives upstairs and often comes down to do errands for her.

Preferring finesse to violence (for now), while Sam is away on a bogus assignment, Mike pretends to be his old Marines buddy to talk Susy into divulging the location of the doll. Carlino plays a detective, and Roat adds two roles to the ruse, as the tension builds and their patience wanes. This is set in 1963, so a phone booth just down the block is a vital plot element. As Susy’s necessary attention to details starts to clue her in on what’s happening, how will she get out of this situation? Note the play’s title.

The cast also includes Sidney Blake and Thomas Burek.

Odle’s own attention to detail aids the atmosphere, taking advantage of the fact that the Mud Creek Barn isn’t a large venue, aiding our trapped feeling with lower than usual lighting. Jennifer Poynter is assistant director, and Amy Buell is stage manager.

Odle-Stollings delivers an excellent performance of a woman familiar with fear as she had been blinded only a couple of years before, still, knowing she must rely on her own strength and wits – every day to get around, and on this night as a matter of life and death. She received help from the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired to effectively and respectfully portray an unsighted person.

The fact that Keller is such a nice guy offstage helps make his turn as ruthless Roat all the more disturbing. His villainy is enhanced by his own sense for detail and preparation. Scoble and Brown add a bit of humor to the mix, but we come to see the hardened criminals they play take this all very seriously.

Odom, already quite active as a Mud Creek volunteer, is also a natural on stage, playing the kid who, despite her attitude, truly wants to help – if that involves breaking things, all the better!

Suspense builds to the final scene. See what happens when the lights go out in “Wait Until Dark,” performances Thursday through Saturday at 9740 E. 86th St., Indianapolis. Get tickets at mudcreekplayers.org.

Westfield hosts ‘Ripcord’s rowdy rivalry

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By John Lyle Belden

For something different for October, a show in which it is one of the characters who is supposed to be frightened – for the audience, it’s all laughs. Main Street Productions of Westfield presents “Ripcord,” by David Lindsay-Abaire.

If the playwright sounds familiar, it is because he is known for hits including the deep drama “Rabbit Hole,” and the wild hilarity of the stage musical of “Shrek.” He shows a bit of both sides in this comedy. Director Andrea Odle lets the natural odd-couple humor shine through rather than let this devolve into farce, with just the right amount of slapstick.

Abby (Miki Mathioudakis), the acerbic resident of an assisted-living retirement home, doesn’t like having a roommate – especially her latest, upbeat talkative Marilyn (Tina Nehrling). When resident aide Scotty (Marshall) fails to arrange a room reassignment, the women come up with their own solution. In their wager, if unflappable Marilyn loses her cool and gets angry, she must move out; if unmovable Abby becomes afraid, she must let Marilyn stay and get the bed next to the window.

This includes a scene at a haunted house where aspiring actor Scotty is one of the performers. We also meet Marilyn’s daughter and son-in-law Colleen (Claire Slaven) and Derek (Scott Prill), who help run her skydiving business.

Cameron Ponce plays Marilyn’s son Benjamin; and he, Slaven, and Prill fill in other roles.

Mathioudakis and Nehrling have wonderful, volatile chemistry. Their characters can both dish it out and take it in their prank war, while revealing sufficient depth to engage us in the question of whether it’s possible to take their antics too far.

Marshall plays Scotty as a friend caught in the middle like a babysitter at a high-stakes pillow fight. He has limited authority, but unlimited concern. Prill and Slaven give Derek and Colleen a spirit of fun natural to a family raised on adventure.  

This production lets the fun “rip” four more times, Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 10-13, at Basile Westfield Playhouse, 220 N. Union St. Get info and tickets at westfieldplayhouse.org.

Sit, stay, see ‘Sylvia’

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By Wendy Carson

The Village Theater, a newly minted company based in Noblesville, leaps onto the local stage scene with their delightful production of the comedy “Sylvia,” by A.R. Gurney, in Carmel.

Greg (Mason Odle) is having a midlife crisis. He’s fed up with his job, he’s missing his now-grown kids, and he’s unhappy living in the city. Into his life bounds a perky, devoted young female who is the answer to all his woes. Kate (Andrea Odle), his wife, who is flourishing as an empty-nester, puts her foot down and refuses to allow her to live with them, at first. She reluctantly allows Sylvia (Amber Shatto) to move in on a temporary basis.

Should I mention that Sylvia is a dog?

Thus, we have an endearing story in which we are privy to all of Sylvia’s thoughts and actions and the conversations she holds with our main couple, when each human is alone. Add to the mix JB Scoble, portraying the various supporting characters: Tom, the fellow owner at the dog park who reads books and analyzes Greg and Sylvia’s relationship; Phyllis, one of Kate’s snooty friends who shares her horror at the changes she must endure as no longer the only female in the house; and Leslie, Kate’s therapist, who tries to council Greg but ends up sharing Kate’s disdain for the usurper.

Director Larry Adams excels at keeping the show about their relationships while allowing the joy and laughter inherent to shine through. Offstage spouses Mason and Andrea Odle address their characters’ needs and desires as a couple, as well as their conflict regarding Sylvia. Scoble shows off his range with his three characters but is a sheer audience delight in his turn as the pearl-clutching Phyllis.

Shatto’s energy and exuberance throughout all the various phases of her character is spectacular. Anyone who’s had a dog or been around them for any period will recognize all of her projected behaviors and hopefully gain insight into what these creatures may have been communicating to us all along.

A sweet, funny, heartfelt salute to man’s best friend, “Sylvia” is at – ironically – the Cat, 254 Veterans way, downtown Carmel, for three more shows, Friday through Sunday, April 19-21. Get tickets at thecat.biz.

Belfry: One ticket to double over laughing

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By John Lyle Belden

When it comes to the comedy “One Man, Two Guvnors,” presented through Sunday at Fishers’ Switch Theatre by The Belfry Theatre, you don’t have to know that it’s the play that helped bring James Corden to international acclaim.

You don’t even have to know that the script by Richard Bean is adapted from the commedia dell’arte play “The Servant of Two Masters,” by Carlo Goldoni, though that helps to understand the broad comic style with characters that fit satirical and absurd archetypes, updated with British cheekiness including wink-wink-nudge-nudge asides to the audience and at least one woman dressed as a man. I sat in the very back row, and to me all the slapstick gestures were as big as life and twice as funny.

If you sit in the very front row – perhaps something you should be aware of – don’t be surprised if you become part of the show.

What’s important is that this community production of the London/Broadway hit is hilarious and sharply served up, especially by our central servant Francis (Mason Odle), who – because food costs money and he’s starving – takes on employment from two well-to-do gents.

Set in the English seaside resort town of Brighton in 1963 (which was to London like Miami Beach was to New York, a place for underworld types to relax), Francis arrives as “Minder” for Roscoe Crabbe (Rylee Odle), who is to marry Pauline (Anabella Lazarides), daughter of Charlie the Duck (Eric Bowman). But she is in love with passionate (over)actor Alan Dangle (Josh Rooks), which would work if the rumor of Roscoe’s death were true.

To give us our properly convoluted plot, Roscoe arrives, but is really (shh!) his “identical” twin sister
Rachel in disguise! Also at the hotel is upperclass twit Stanley Stubbers (Bailey Hunt), who (1) arrived from London hoping to lay low after accidently multiple-stabbing Roscoe, (2) has had a secret relationship with Rachel, and (3) is just daft enough for Francis to take on secretly as a second employer – easy money, right?

Also along on this romp are Laura Wertz; Malcolm Marshall; Dwayne Lewis; Amy Buell; Tom Burek; Nikki Lynch as Dolly, Charlie’s feminist bookkeeper and object of Francis’s affection; and Trever Brown as Alfie, the nearly-deaf, doddering 87-year-old waiter who’s having a painfully bad day.

I’m not British so the accents sounded all right to me, including Marshall’s sweet Jamaican lilt, and the Program includes a glossary to local jargon. In any tone, the jokes all land in one uproarious situation after another. Mason Odle’s Francis is appropriately happy-go-lucky, staying just ahead of Brown’s scene-stealing antics and Hunt’s silly bluster, as well as Rylee Odle’s cleverness and comic timing. And Rooks, is an ACTOR!

Director Andrea Odle delivers a spectacle of smart comedy with this bunch who collectively lower the average IQ in Brighton. Francis keeps confusing his two Guvnors’ letters and personal items, true love is endangered at every turn, Alan desires to literally fight a gangster for Pauline’s hand, and Alfie has fallen down again – best you come see how all this mess turns out.

Performances are Thursday through Sunday at Switch Theatre at Ji-Eun Lee Music Academy, 10029 E. 126th St., Fishers. Get info and tickets at TheBelfryTheatre.com.

‘Sweeney’ stalks Westfield

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By John Lyle Belden

The spooky season has begun, and it’s not just the change in the weather.

Main Street Productions presents “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” at the Basile Westfield Playhouse. With other local stagings in recent years, the popular film version, and today’s buzz about the Broadway revival with Josh Groban, most folks know this assures a ghoulish good time.

Inspired by 19th-century British “penny dreadfuls” with book by Hugh Wheeler and songs by Stephen Sondheim, attend the tale: Todd (Mike Lipphardt), who had been wrongly “transported” on a prison ship, returns to London to seek his revenge on Judge Turpin (John Parks Whitaker). He arrives with the wistful young sailor Anthony Hope (Nate Moore), who had saved Todd’s life at sea. Sweeney finds at his former home a shop where Mrs. Lovett (Claire Slaven) sells “the Worst Pies in London.” He learns his wife had taken poison and the Judge took his daughter Johanna (Lizzie Schultz) as ward. Coincidentally, Anthony finds Johanna at her balcony and seeks to woo her. Turpin’s will, and local law, are enforced by The Beadle Bamford (Bailey Hunt).

After eliminating the competition, Señor Pirelli (Chris Ritchie), Sweeney opens his barber service just above the pie shop where Lovett’s cooking suddenly gets a whole lot better. In the process, she takes on Pirelli’s former assistant Tobias (Alex Bast) as her own.

In addition, there’s a pesky Beggar Woman (Tessa Gibbons) about. Also, from the dozen-member chorus, Aidan Morris takes the brief role of madhouse-keeper Jonas Fogg.

Some would say the star of the show is the infamous barber chair in which Todd dispatches his victims. I was informed this one was reconditioned from use in the Footlite Musicals production. However, Jay Ganz and Mason Odle designed and built a splendid set around it.

Directed by Andrea Odle, Lipphardt gives us a nearly perfect presentation of Mr. Todd – undying grudge, creepy vocal tone, powerful singing, dead-eyed stare, and all. Slaven wickedly matches him as the ever-plotting Lovett. To the other extreme, Moore and Schultz are ever charming. Bast, in one of the more complex roles, turns in an excellent performance as well.

Perhaps the most interesting was Hunt’s cartoonishly odd Beadle. With his eccentric style and strutting walk, he looks like he escaped from a British “Panto,” yet somehow fits right in this setting. Likewise, Gibbons puts a little more effort than expected in her role, to great effect.

Perhaps the best scene is the entire cast’s enactment of Lovett’s fantasy during “By the Sea,” a surreal bit worthy of some award on its own.

Musical director is Laura Hicks. Dwayne Lewis is stage manager.

Little pies (not meat, though) are sold as souvenir refreshments before and during the show. Greet autumn with this macabre classic, with performances Thursday through Sunday (Sept. 28-Oct. 1) at 220 N. Union St., downtown Westfield. Get info and tickets at westfieldplayhouse.org.

Belfry presents literary classic of age of excess

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By John Lyle Belden

It has become common practice when staging a Greek or Shakespearean tragedy to place it in another time and place than its original setting – such as America in the “Roaring” 1920s. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby” is already very much at home in that era, which gives heft to the Simon Levy stage adaptation, presented by Belfry Theatre at Theater at the Fort in Lawrence.

Directed by Andrea Odle, this production presents people caught up in the roar of jazz, fancy cars, bootleg booze, and easy money, oblivious to the fact it was all too good to last. If a sip of gin made everyone an outlaw, what other sins were fair game? And what if even the slickest con man had honest feelings?

Our narrator and guide through this gilded world, Nick Carraway (Troy Bridges), visits his cousin Daisy (Rachel Bush) and her husband Tom Buchanan (Mike Lipphardt) at their swank Long Island home. She introduces Nick to tennis star Jordan Baker (Tessa Gibbons) with hopes of matchmaking. 

Nick’s rental is next to the palatial estate of the mysterious Jay Gatsby (Samuel Smith), thrower of frequent wild parties. Upon meeting, Nick finds Gatsby is a fellow World War I veteran – a fact obscured by numerous rumors about his life and wealth – who had a past relationship with Daisy. The tangled web of characters includes Tom’s mistress Myrtle (Jessica Hawkins) and her unsuspecting husband George Wilson (Jackson Stollings), New York City socialites Chester (Zach Thompson) and Lucille McKee (Erin Chandler), and Gatsby’s business associate Meyer Wolfsheim (Nicholas Maudlin). Maudlin and Chandler also play a Policeman and witness to a tragic event in the second act.

Bridges ably plays Nick as one both fascinated and repulsed by the excesses around him. Smith presents Gatsby with a shrewd eye, likable even when you don’t quite trust him. Bush gives us a sweet young woman with everything but bravery. Gibbons, on the other hand, plays Jordan strong but addicted to the glamour of a life she feels she earned. Hawkins wins our sympathies as someone who didn’t get the breaks but keeps hoping to the point of delusion. Lipphardt manages an interesting but mildly detestable character living in a time and place where bigotry could get a person quite far in society. 

The play presents a fascinating insight and commentary on a past era that resonates so well with our own, when the lifestyle of excess is still splashed upon our screens and reported with the news. Perhaps the 2020s have a roar of their own. 

Remaining performances are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, at 8920 Otis Ave. For info and tickets, see thebelfrytheatre.com and artsforlawrence.org.

Spinning a story with a bit of Broadway

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By John Lyle Belden

These are unusual times, so here is an unusual show.

While advising all who feel unwell or uncomfortable to sit this one out, Fat Turtle Theatre is, last we heard, continuing with its production of “This is Us: An Inspirational Steampunk Broadway Cabaret.”

This is a little out of the comfort zone for Fat Turtle, a company that typically does plays, as well as founder Aaron Cleveland, who as the show’s Narrator is called upon to sing. But it does fit within the mission of presenting Indiana works, as the revue of Broadway songs are hung like ornaments on an original story by local playwright Nicole Amsler.

The setting and aesthetic, as noted in the title, are the alternate-history dystopia of Steampunk, with its corsets and clockworks. This helps give the whole production a familiar, yet otherworldly feel. 

Cleveland recites Amsler’s fable about a grieving father who devises “a machine to take all the pain of the world” and how his children strive to save him from it. Honestly, it sounds like the seed from which a great original musical could be grown.

But for now, we get an interesting selection of songs that loosely fit the theme, taken from a wide variety of Broadway shows. While some are easily recognizable, like a tune from “Wicked,” and include current hits like one from “Dear Evan Hansen,” there are also numbers from shows such as “Newsies,” “The Color Purple,” “Kinky Boots,” “Jekyll & Hyde,” “Mean Girls,” and even a beautifully appropriate song from the underappreciated “Pirate Queen.” 

To deliver these song-and-dance bits, we have area talents Tessa Gibbons, Jessica Hawkins, Kaitlin Holden, Jenn Kaufmann, Richelle Lutz, Jennifer Poytner, Brad Root and Jackson Stollings. Direction and choreography are by Andrea Odle, and there is a small band of musicians, led by Linda Parr. 

The result is an entertaining distraction — for a couple of hours — from current events, and the opportunity to enjoy songs even fans of showtunes don’t hear every day. This gang puts their hearts into their performances — as well as a bit of humor, when Hawkins and Stollings take on a fun old standard. Actually, every individual gets a chance to stand center and shine. 

The costumes, by Shannon Rice, include inventive use of blue LED wires to enhance the retro-sci-fi feel and add necessary emphasis when the circuits resemble the human heart. 

There is one scheduled weekend left, March 20-21 at The Switch, 10029 E. 126th St., Suite D, Fishers (in Ji-Eun Lee Music Academy), and as this cabaret is also a company fundraiser, all who are interested, and feel up to it, are encouraged to attend, or at least consider Fat Turtle in your charitable giving.

Details are at FatTurtleTheatre.com.

Mud Creek: Where ‘Almost’ seems exactly right

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By Wendy Carson

On the heels of their hilarious Christmas show, (“Inlaws, Outlaws, and Other People Who Should Be Shot”) Mud Creek Players give us another sweet laugh-fest with their latest production, “Almost Maine.”

The title comes from the “not-quite” town in extreme northern Maine, small in population, but overflowing with quirkiness.

There are two people who are either close together or vastly far apart; a woman whose defenses keep her from seeing what’s right in front of her; a misspelling possibly leading to love; the answer to a question asked a very long time ago. Plus, you have two people literally falling in love, the other shoe literally dropping, a couple literally returning their love for each other, a man who literally feels no pain, and an actual broken heart.

All this happens on a cold, wintry Friday night. Those of us of a certain age will feel like we are watching a romantic update of “Northern Exposure,” with all the whimsy on display under the Northern Lights.

This series of scenes is brought to life by Matt Harzburg, Kyrsten Lyster, Lexi Odle, Mason Odle, Jennifer Poynter and Jackson Stollings in multiple roles, directed by Andrea Odle with Amanda Armstrong. They all embrace the charm, wonder and weirdness of the stories, aptly acting as though these odd northwoods happenings occur every day. Thus they make the accompanying feelings seem natural – and somehow relatable to us, watching from a “barn” in the woods near Geist.

While this is a perfect show to bring a date, singles and families will find it just as enchanting. Also, each lady in attendance was given a long-stemmed rose. So brave the cold, and warm up to the sweet charm of “Almost, Maine.”

Performances run through March 2 at 9740 E. 86th St.; call 317290-5343 or visit www.mudcreekplayers.com.