Love is a many-splintered thing

November 20, 2019 - 11:47 AM

Ah, love. The most complex of human emotions. It?s complicated. Frustrating. Exhilarating.

Who can make sense out of something so? insane?

Allen Community College Theatre Department will try with ?Love/Sick,? a play by John Cariani. He wrote ?Almost Maine,? which also has been performed locally.

Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday at the ACC Theatre, with some roles portrayed by more than one actor thanks to an over-abundance of talent in this year?s crop of performers.

The play is a series of nine short scenes, each illustrating a different facet of love. The journey begins with scenes full of hope and a touch of uncertainty before turning to the challenging realities of a relationship. Things don?t work out as planned. People change. Marriages fall apart.

And, in the end, couples wonder if it?s worth the struggle.

Carolyn Appleton and Julius Hodges, both of Yates Center, meet at a grocery store and discover they have a little too much in common in ?Obsessive/Impulsive,? the opening scene for the play ?Love/Sick.? REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Obsessive/Impulsive

Plato wrote that love is a serious mental illness.

The introductory sketch takes Plato literally. Two strangers, who meet while shopping, suffer from the same medical condition: obsessive impulsive disorder. They?ve been diagnosed. They?re in treatment.

When they meet, it?s love at first sight. Or is it just their mental illness?

Should they give in? Or get help?

Carolyn Appleton is the woman and Julius Hodges is the man. The two share an undeniable chemistry, appropriate since they spend much of their time on stage with lips locked.

They?re clearly a great match. They speak in unison, debating the pros and cons of giving into their passion or taking the more practical choice of separating forever. Appleton and Hodges make it easy to imagine them living as a quirky happily-ever-after couple, if only they can get past their fears.