by Macey Levin
The Ancram Center For The Arts in Ancram, New York, has built a reputation for producing plays that challenge and charm audiences. Their current offering “I’m Almost There,” written and performed by Todd Almond, is a shining example of their work. In an off beat, dreamlike sixty-five minutes, we travel with Almond as he wends his way down the stairs of his eerie apartment building, peopled by somewhat quirky, if not downright weird, neighbors, or so it seems.
As the play opens with a light on Almond at a piano he confides in the audience about his isolation and troubling doubt, as he sings, “I didn’t know today I’d wake up to confront my deranged self here, like Odysseus in Hades..” And So Almond sings, like Homer, of his travails as he seeks a path to escape the mantra of defeatism and depression that haunt his waking moments and prompt anxious sleep-walking episodes.
At a party he meets “Guy” and a deep friendship begins to develop as they talk and walk the city streets for hours on an Easter Sunday. But the relationship teeters as the old feelings of inadequacy emerge to cause an awkward moment between the two. How Almond overcomes his apprehension takes the form of a journey past the doors of the mysterious inhabitants of the apartment house. One by one they appear and attempt to deter him from meeting up with Guy, each mimicking a suggestion of a mythic creature while adding an aura of magical realism to the story. Almond sings of “fighting demons” as he struggles against his own worst impulses in the form of recognizable tropes from “The Odyssey.”
Todd Almond in his “I’m Almost There”, directed by David Cromer, at the Ancram Center for the Arts. 
Todd Almond and bass guitarist Noah Max Amick in Almond’s “I’m Almost There”, directed by David Cromer, at the Ancram Center for the Arts. 
odd Almond and harpist Erin Hill in Almond’s “I’m Almost There”, directed by David Cromer, at the Ancram Center for the Arts. 
Todd Almond and harpist Erin Hill in Almond’s “I’m Almost There”, directed by David Cromer, at the Ancram Center for the Arts. 
But it is Almond’s performance, accompanied by noted harpist Erin Hill and bassist Noah Max Amick, under the direction by David Cromer that brings humor and drama to the play. Almond is a congenial storyteller. We find ourselves hanging on every word. He’s also a strong actor as he utilizes a broad range of emotions and plays Guy as well as himself.
Hill’s stunning musical contribution and acting and Amick’s bass chords enhance Almond’s sometime hilarious yet moving examination of human insecurity as we recognize his need to sabotage a successful escape from the chains of his past.
The simplicity of the set by Se Oh, which is only the piano, harp, bass and accompanying furniture, allows the story to be the focus of the play. The audience is not distracted by extraneous elements. The same is true of Stacey Derosier and Evan Anderson’s subtle and effective lighting design. Tony Award winner David Cromer (“Good Night, and Good Luck” and “The Band’s Visit”) has directed the play by creating and clarifying the tensions of Almond’s story.
“I’m Almost There” is an emotional and intellectual experience supported by strong performances and rich music.
I’m Almost There wrritten and performed by Todd Almond; Musicians” Erin Hill (Harp) Noah Max Amick (Bass); Associate director: Ani Taj; Music director: Jonathan Mastro; Costume design: David Hyman; Lighting designers: Stacey Derosier and Evan Anderson; Sound design: Christopher Darbassie; Scenic design: Se Oh; Stage Manager: Kasson Marroquin; Producer: Mark Subias; Running time: Sixty-five minutes; no intermission; August 7-9 ad August 12-16; Center For The Arts, 1330 Co. Rte 7, Ancram, NY 12502; July 17-19 & July 22-26, 2026; For tickets and information: www.ancramcenter.org or 518-329-0114