Feature: Torrance Theatre Company Continues Their Play-at-Home Series with ANNAPURNA by Sharr White

ANNAPURNA is driven by the emotionally charged relationship between a husband and wife. What makes the Torrance Theatre Company's Zoom production not like most others is that a real-life married couple is portraying the two characters, taped together on an actual stage with blocking - just without an in-person audience. It's still considered a staged reading since it's not fully produced, and the actors have scripts in places on stage to refer to as needed.

ANNAPURNA centers around two formerly-married people who meet up after twenty years apart after Emma tracks her former husband Ulysses down in the wilds of Colorado in a grungy trailer, working on his magnum opus, hooked to an oxygen tank, and cooking in the buff, for a final reckoning after she finds out he is dying. With her own second marriage on the rocks, is her motive just to care for her ailing first husband who she walked out on, or is there a more clandestine reason? Their reunion, charged by rage and compassion, brings back the worst and best of their former bond.

As Ulysses' symptoms increase, Emma's good heart and deep-seated love for her ex shines through thanks to Baker-Kreiswirth's open-hearted and soulful character work, not to mention her loving way of making sure he has the supplies he needs to keep going. But it is Wolski who steals every scene with his wildly-intense emotions on his sleeve as well as his face, taking Ulysses from a hard-hearted former drunk to the almost totally helpless man he has become thanks to several unfair twists of fate. But as we know, who ever said life was fair? And it certainly hasn't been for these two.

What unfolds during the performance is a visceral and profound meditation on love and loss with the simplest of theatrical elements: two people in one room. This breathtaking story about the longevity of love in the face of all odds is made more real by the long-married couple presenting it who certainly have lived through the ups and downs of married life together.

"The theme of reconnection is paramount to the story, in yet another of our PLAY-AT-HOME offering" says Gia Jordahl, producing artistic director for the Torrance Theatre Company, "and not only the connection between two people, but the idea of caring for each other when times are tough, and the power of reconciliation. While the story takes us on a tumultuous and often difficult journey with these two people, there is still so much love and grace manifested in their encounter, that we leave Annapurna with a sense of hope."

An encore of ANNAPURNA is being streamed by Torrance Theatre Company for 24 hours on Sunday, November 22. Tickets are $20, and patrons can purchase their tickets via the link on www.TorranceTheatreCompany.com/PLAY-AT-HOME after which you will receive the link to watch the show. If you have questions, please call (424) 243-6882. Tune in and support local theatre!

The Torrance Theatre Company is a program of the Cultural Services Division of the Torrance Community Services Department. www.TorranceCA.Gov. Sponsored in part by Friends of Torrance Theatre Company.

Screenshots courtesy of Torrance Theatre Company

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