Young love found, destroyed and left behind in one magical night in the middle of a winter wonderland was portrayed in John Cariani’s play, “Almost, Maine” by the talents of the MSU Theatre Department.

The audience got a glimpse of the life of 19 different characters, who are all connected through the place they live or visit, the deepest part of Maine, as far north as one could possibly travel in the United States.

Saturday night saw a half-filled theater that was quick to laugh at Rhonda (Anna Spivey), a character who had never been kissed before, in scene eight, but also sat in silence when Gayle (Kierra Jefferson) asked Lendall (Marcus Jones) in scene four to return all of the love she had given him over the years.

Each couple displayed had their own scene, which lasted an estimated 15 minutes each.

The theater students seemed to fit their roles perfectly, awakening their character to life through body language as well as spoken word.

This is truly what made the play work and what brought it close to the heart of the audience.

As love is such a complicated issue, most people are aware that there are many different parts to it.

One might have had his or her heart broken, like Glory (Nicole Neely) in scene one, or is longing for a past lover, just as Jimmy (Parker Arnold) in scene two.

One might think they can’t feel anything, like Steve (Carter Wallace) in scene three, or be unaware of the deep love that is carried within oneself, just as Randy (Greg Meisinger) and Chad (Maxwell Norris) discover in scene five.

One might wonder where the love went they once felt, like Marci (Kaci Brown) and Phil (Devon Farnsworth) try to find out in scene six, or why they wasted so much time before they realized who they truly love, just as Hope (Morgan Burkey) in scene seven.

The audience could relate to at least one of the characters, if not many.

The stage design was done artistically well, fitting each of the different locations without having to change any of the major props. What really set the mood during the play was the scenic and lighting design by Don Henschel and sound design by Wendi Wainscott. If the audience hadn’t felt as if they were in the magical middle of nowhere, they sure did when the northern lights appeared in scene one “Her Heart.”

“Almost, Maine” opened the 2012-13 theater season. The department will be performing “The Bacchae” by Euripides in November, “Sweeney Todd” by Stephen Sondheim and several student-produced one-act plays in the spring.