CARTERVILLE - John A. Logan College will present "Almost, Maine" today and Saturday in O'Neil Auditorium. The play made its debut Thursday night on Logan's stage.

"Almost, Maine," written by John Cariani, portrays how the mysteries of love touch the residents of a small town in northern Maine. Steve Falcone, the play's director and assistant professor of English at the college, said the production will appeal to a wide audience.

"The story is about one magical, surreal night of many intertwining love moments on a chilly evening in the mythical town of Almost, Maine," Falcone said. "There are scenes where characters are stunned that they're in love, or heartbroken over the loss of love, or intrigued by finding love in the most unlikely places. It's charming and very funny. It's a good date play."

Falcone is also acting in the production.

"The play has a lot of great scenes and that gives us the chance to use several actors," Falcone said. "Our cast is a combination of veterans and newcomers to the Logan stage. I have a role, as do Rita Pearce, Heather Barnett and Gary Walkup, all of whom I've worked with many times. We also have some really talented younger actors like Ian Cochran, Kaleb Triplett and Jared Shofstal involved in the show. It's a good mix."

Shofstal, 20, of Herrin has two roles in the play.

"I play the characters Randy and East," Shofstal said. "My scenes deal with issues of unexpected, forbidden love and love at first sight. I've worked backstage on plays at Logan before, but this is the first time I'll be onstage in a Logan production. I'm really ex-cited about it. This is a fun show."

Performances will be at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. today and 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets for the evening shows are $8 for general admission and $5 for students. Tickets for the matinee is $1 for the general public and free to Logan students and staff.