How would you cope if the person who was your life for over 40 years died unexpectedly? In the U.S. premiere of Philip Reilly’s “Seasons in the Sun,” The Footlights Theatre explores the heartache of moving on and the possibility of finding love again.

The play opens at a cemetery on Dec. 21. Molly, played by Jackie Oliveri, is visiting her husband’s grave on the third anniversary of his death. They were married 42 years before he died in his sleep from a heart attack. At the next grave over, Adam, played by Vin Brown, is visiting his wife of 49 years, who died suddenly two years prior.

Molly visits her husband’s grave daily, unable to let go. This is the first time that Adam has been able to muster the strength to visit his wife’s grave since the burial. When the widow and widower meet by chance at the side-by-side graves, a friendship is sparked as the two commiserate over the loss of their beloved spouses.

“Seasons in the Sun” follows their touching relationship as it grows over the next 10 months, marking the passing seasons with holiday celebrations: Christmas, New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Fourth of July and Halloween.

Oliveri and Brown deliver moving performances that touch the heart. The audience feels Molly’s pain and uncertainty as she struggles to reconcile the loss of her husband with the newfound happiness she has found with Adam. Brown is a delight to watch as his character’s sadness lifts, replaced by giddiness akin to a schoolboy with a crush.

Vicki Machado rounds out the cast as Molly’s daughter, Sarah. The character embodies the familial obstacles that can impede a second chance at love and happiness. Machado, as Sarah, seethes with a petulant anger and hurt, her character unable to let go of the past.

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“Seasons in the Sun,” under the direction of Michael J. Tobin, takes the audience on an emotional journey through the seasons as Molly and Adam explore the question, “Is it possible to find love and happiness again after losing the love of your life?” The play is filled with emotional highs and lows that tug at the heartstrings, all the while reminding how important it is to stay open to and seize new possibilities for happiness.

April Boyle is a freelance writer from Casco. Contact her at:

aprilhboyle@yahoo.com

Twitter: @ahboyle


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