Almost, Maine

In Almost, Maine, a broken heart is an actual object you can carry around in a paper bag.

John Cariani's play unfolds on one cold winter night in a remote northern town that never got around to organizing itself into an actual town. Across a series of interconnected scenes, its residents fall in love, out of love, and sideways into something they were not expecting. The trick is that the metaphors are taken literally: love falls from the sky, hearts bruise where you can see them, and the magical realism lands as comedy right up until it does not.

It has become one of the most widely produced plays in America because it does something difficult very lightly. Nova Hall directs, produced by Carin Zakes.

Ten performances. Friday 19, Saturday 20, Friday 26 and Saturday 27 February and Friday 5 and Saturday 6 March at 7:30pm, Sunday matinees on 21 and 28 February and 7 March at 2pm, plus one Thursday, 25 February at 7:30pm.

Getting tickets. Booking runs through On The Stage, from the show's own page on the Town Players site. The box office is on 203-594-3636 and they answer email at info@tpnc.org.

Where to go. The Powerhouse Theatre is at 679 South Avenue in New Canaan, tucked into Waveny Park, and it is an easy run in from anywhere in lower Fairfield County.