BWW Reviews: Mullally and Offerman Live ANNAPURNA at Odyssey

Annapurna/by Sharr White/directed by Bart DeLorenzo/Odyssey Theatre Ensemble/through June 9

Annapurna is one of the highest mountain peaks of the Himalayas, considered the most dangerous. Yet that does not stop climbers from risking their lives. Theirs is an extreme form of commitment. Sharr White uses scaling the mountain range as a symbol in his new play Annapurna now at the Odyssey through June 9. Megan Mullally and husband Nick Offerman under Bart DeLorenzo's steady hand work a sometimes pleasurable, oft times painful but worthwhile 90-minute encounter that puts a whole new spin on marital fidelity.

In a rundown trailer somewhere in the mountains of Colorado Emma (Mullally) faces her husband Ulysses (Offerman) for the first time in twenty years. The play begins with a series of blackout scenes laced with lots of laughs, making the uncomfortable confrontation awkward and amusing rather than flatout confrontational. In fact, the entire first section of the play shows the characters attempting to catch up by filling in details, but they keep avoiding issues, especially what happened the night Emma walked out on Ulysses with their 5 year-old son Sam. She's since met another man Peter, and Ulysses is now dying of a form of lung cancer. When her mother died, letters that he had written surface and she eventually learns of his condition. Has she come to help him through his final days? Does she want to make up for lost time and perhaps renew some kind of relationship, particularly for Sam's sake? He will be joining them shortly, according to Emma, and has viewed his poet dad, as seen solely through the letters, as some kind of hero. Sam has also put the blame on Emma for not filling him in on the past and keeping him out of touch with Ulysses. Only she knows the horrible reason and has kept it buried for 20 years.

The past is not resolved until late in the script so what we get for the big space in the middle is Emma cleaning up the trailer and chastising Ulysses for his unkempt living conditions, and him trying to send her packing, as he is too proud to accept her kindnesses. When we finally get to the reason Emma left, it's a heartbreaking moment for both of them. However, the closure tends not to divide but unite them. Without disclosing the reason, suffice to say that Ulysses has always been a wicked alcoholic, and in spite of their love for one another, things went terribly wrong. Emma's second relationship with Peter has been abusive, so her emotional life did not really improve after Ulysses. Both are severely damaged, yet they find refuge in each other. Ulysses, in spite of his illness, has managed to scratch out an epic poem in which he compares the climbing of Annapurna to his failure but intense desire for commitment to Emma. It's never too late to pick up the pieces.

A note about Thomas A. Walsh's vivid scenic design of the trailer: there's wonderfully detailed contrast between the squalor within and the surrounding Colorado mountains, which provide much needed light and inspiration.

White's poetry is endearing and quite lovely...and his dialogue, sharp, funny and consistently very honest, so the long wait to find the answers is hardly dull, and especially with the riveting and sensitive work form both Mullally and Offerman. It is sheer joy to see them work together with such openness and truth. Regardless of what she does - even when she's dusting or preparing an avocado & cheese sandwich - Mullally is always interesting to watch, and Offerman's volatile transitions/mood swings are brilliantly executed. DeLorenzo knows his actors well, so this quartet of White, DeLorenzo, Mullally and Offerman is a marriage made in heaven.

http://www.odysseytheatre.com/

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