HARRISON – Deertrees Theatre will conclude the summer season with John Cariani’s “Almost, Maine,” a production about life in the Pine Tree State.

A native of Presque Isle, Cariani got his acting start at the Portland Stage Company before going on to become a regular on NBC’s “Law and Order” – and receiving a Tony Award nomination for his performance in the Broadway revival of “Fiddler On The Roof.”

Despite his success in the Big Apple, Cariani never lost sight of his hometown roots. “Everything that I saw in New York as far as theater goes seemed to be about well-to-do people and what I and a lot of my friends from Maine call ‘made-up problems,'” Cariani said in a prepared statement. “I wasn’t really happy with a lot of the stories I saw presented on the stage and I just wanted to create a community where we get some truth, and ‘Almost, Maine’ is that place.”

Cariani’s play, which premiered at Portland Stage Company in 2005, was a surprise hit off-Broadway the following year. Hailed as “Love in the Land of Frostbite” by the New York Times, “Almost, Maine” is a collection of linked sketches about the lovable eccentrics inhabiting an isolated town in northern Maine.

This will be the first time Cariani acts in the published version of the play, though he did appear in scenes when he was developing the script many years ago. Also acting in the play, directed by Ed Chemly, will be Amber C. Irvin and Patrick Noonan.

“Almost, Maine” will be presented Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 30-31 and Sept. 1-2. Tickets are available through the Deertrees box office at 583-6747, or online at www.deertreestheatre.org.