Little Theatre of Manchester (LTM) will present John Cariani’s LOVE/SICK weekends from June 1 to June 17, 2018

 Little Theatre of Manchester (LTM) will present John Cariani’s LOVE/SICK weekends from June 1 to June 17, 2018, at Cheney Hall.

“A dark, amusing look at romance…strikes just the right balance between wisdom and whimsy…light, bright, anti-romantic, and engaging,” according toThe Hartford Courant, LOVE/SICK is a collection of nine slightly twisted and completely hilarious short vignettes taking place in an alternate suburban reality (where a bride can literally get cold feet and a couple can simply forget to have a baby). This 80-minute romp explores the tragedy and comedy of relationships. Full of imperfect lovers and dreamers, LOVE/SICK is an unromantic comedy for the romantic in everyone.

LTM member Debi Freund directs LOVE/SICK. “All happening simultaneously at 7:30 on a Friday night, these short plays examine different aspects of a relationship, from first love to the demise of one relationship and the start of the new one—things that everyone can relate to,” describes Freund. “It’s a quiet, small, simple, lovely play that combines very real concerns with a little absurdity. There is warm, universal humor with just a light tinge of pathos.”

LTM audiences might recognize John Cariani’s name (and the play’s style) from LTM’s 2014 popular production of Almost, Maine. In 2004, Almost, Maine had its premiere production at Portland Stage Company in Maine. Two years later, in January 2006, the play moved to New York where it opened Off-Broadway to warmly welcoming reviews, with the New York Times noting “its whimsical approach to the joys and perils of romance.” In 2010 it headed the list of most-produced plays in America’s high schools, knocking Shakespeare off the top spot, a position he had occupied continuously since 1937.

LOVE/SICK followed a similar production path, appearing at Portland Stage in the spring of 2013 before opening off-Broadway in 2015, with BroadwayWorld.com calling the play “entertaining and fun. A satisfyingly dark look at this thing we call love,” and TheSource.com stating “[LOVE/SICK brings] to light the complexity of communication and what it means to not only love someone else, but yourself as well…Truly beautiful.”

Cariani has been nominated for a Tony Award for his portrayal of Motel the tailor in the Broadway revival of “Fiddler on the Roof,” and won an Outer Critics Circle award for that role in 2004. He has appeared on numerous TV shows, including most recently the season finale of the ever-popular Showtime series “Homeland.” For many years, he made regular appearances on “Law & Order” as a lab tech.