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A CurtainUp Review
Annapurna
By Joyce Friedland

"It's just that I kind of see it up here as a fitting purgatory on earth for me, see. A direct reflection of the sum a' all my sins, which have bought me here, and on which I am now required to sit and ponder before I am allowed to die. So why clean the counters."—Ulysses
Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally
A "hook" is a literary technique that appears at the beginning of a story that grabs the attention of its audience and makes it want to continue on with the story. Although this device is usually found in the opening sentences of a novel or short story, Sharr White uses it to incredible effect in the opening scenes of his newest off-broadway play, Annapurna.

The opening scene finds Ulysses (Nick Offerman) in his cluttered and unkempt mobile home, wearing only a greasy apron and a portable oxygen backpack. He is surprised and horrified at the arrival of his former wife, Emma (Megan Mullally, Offerman's wife in real life) who left him twenty years ago and whom he hasn't seen since. His response is, "Holy crap," which he repeats three times before there is a stage blackout.

While the audience is recovering from the audacity of this scene, the stage brightens again in a scene that takes place just two minutes later. Emma evades Ulysses's questions by simply pointing out the mountains that surround the trailer, and once again there is a blackout.

The "hook" has been well set. As the audience laughs at the absurdity of these two scenes, they want to know how this situation came to be. Why is Emma there? Why had she run out on Ulysses, taking their son Sam with her, twenty years ago? Why is Ulysses living as a recluse in absolute squalor? Why is he carrying oxygen on his back, and why isn't he clothed? And the ultimate question, how did these two mismatched individuals ever become a married couple? The unraveling of these issues and the attempt to answer these questions becomes the stuff of this dynamic, poignant, and yes, even hilarious, play.

As in life, all questions cannot be answered, and some issues cannot be faced at all or ever resolved. As the two actors struggle to deal with each other in the present and comprehend their history, they make you laugh, become frustrated with their wasted lives and bring you close to tears as the inevitability of death looms ahead.

When it turns out that Ulysses, a former alcoholic, cannot even remember the circumstances that became the defining moment of his life, the moment that is leading to his absolute destruction as a man, the title of the play,comes to light. Like Maurice Herzog in 1950 who successfully scaled the 8,000 meter peak of Annapurna in the Himalayas, the defining moment of his life led to his destruction as all of the digits on his hands and toes required amputation.

Nick Offerman plays the character of Ulysses, a former cowboy poet, with strength and sensitivity. Expertly directed by Bart DeLorenzo, he yells, howls, gasps and croons at Emma. Despite his disgusting living conditions and sordid past, he evokes our sympathy.

Megan Mullally, playing his foil, appears as an uptight woman, efficient in the business of cleaning up the mess in the trailer, but unable to clean up the mess that has been her life. Unfortunately, she comes across as being too shrill since so much screaming tends to disguise the more tender moments. But Mullally's comedic ability, as honed in her role as Karen Walker in the TV show
Will and Grace, prevents the play from turning maudlin and totally tragic.

The single setting by Thomas A. Walsh almost becomes a character in itself. The stage appears as a cross-section of a mobile home whose silhouette resembles that of the classic modern silver streak. The interior— disorganized, foul-smelling, insect and rodent infested, and laden with books on every overhead shelf — becomes a metaphor for the life of its owner. This is also true of the backdrop, which is literally the Rocky Mountains, but could also represent Annapurna in the Himalayas.

This is an engaging play, but perhaps not as well written as Sharr White's The Other Place. (Curtainup review). My earlier comments about the complex questions and issues raised, I found the ending problematic since it seemed to resolve un-resolvable past issues in the present lives of Ulysses and Emma.

Editor's Notes: For our review of the play during its New Jersey premiere go here.
Annapurna by Sharr White
Director Bart DeLorenzo
Cast Megan Mullally (Emma), Nick Offerman (Ulysses) Set Design Thomas A. Walsh
Costume Design Ann Closs-Farley
Lighting Design Michael Gend
Sound Design John Ballinger
Running Time 95 minutes; no intermission
Acorn Theatre; 410 West 42nd Street
From 4/13/14; opening 4/21/14 closing 6/01/14
Reviewed by Joyce Friedland 4/18/14
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