Cariani's New Play Pairs Meteor-Shower Romance With a Classmate's Overdose Death

Penobscot Theatre Company is presenting "Darker the Night, Brighter the Stars," a new play by former Presque Isle resident John Cariani, at the Bangor Opera House through March 8, according to a Bangor Daily News review.

Cariani also wrote "Almost, Maine," which has been staged more than 6,000 times. His new work returns to the same small Aroostook County town but moves from winter to a summer night, Aug. 12, during the Perseid meteor shower. As in the earlier play, four actors take on several roles in linked scenes. This time the characters are young adults, from late teens to early 20s, some getting ready to leave town and others coming back. The story touches on a classmate's overdose death and on young people coming to terms with their sexuality.

Portland Stage premiered the play in the spring of 2025, and Penobscot Theatre is the third organization to mount it. The Bangor production, directed by Chicago-based Cheryl Snodgrass, is a partnership with UMaine's School of Performing Arts. The cast includes Vero Villalobos, Anna Kemble of Bangor and UMaine students Josh Worster and JD Moore.

Alivia Cross's set largely reuses the one built for "Almost, Maine." The BDN reviewer praised the production, calling it a "wonderful companion" to Cariani's earlier play.

This story was first reported by Bangor Daily News.