Third Rail Repertory Theatre Presents ANNAPURNA

Twenty years ago Emma walked out on Ulysses in the middle of the night, taking their young son with her. That's given Ulysses two decades to write his magnum opus, perfect his naked cooking techniques, and move into a dingy trailer with a phone-eating dog. But when Emma hears that he's also battling for his life, she returns to hash out the best and worst of their marriage, and the mysterious circumstances of the night she left. Annapurna by Sharr White is an hilarious, heartbreaking look at the enormous power of forgiveness.

Plays by Sharr White have been developed or produced at theatres across the country and Europe, including Manhattan Theatre Club, MCC Theatre, Nationaltheater Mannheim, Melbourne Theatre Company, The Magic Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and more. White's The Other Place received its world premiere Off-Broadway with MCC Theatre, featuring Laurie Metcalf (Lucille Lortel and Obie awards) and directed by Joe Mantello (Lucille Lortel nom). The Other Place subsequently received its Broadway premiere at Manhattan Theatre Club with Joe Mantello again directing Laurie Metcalf (Tony nom). The Other Place was also a recipient of the 2010 Playwrights First Award; the 20011 Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation's Theatre Visions Fund Award; and was an Outer Critics Circle Award nominee for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play.

White's Annapurna premiered at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco and was a finalist for the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award. The Los Angeles premiere of Annapurna was directed at the Odyssey Theatre by Bart DeLorenzo, and starred Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman-a production that The New Group moved Off-Broadway in the spring of 2014. White's The Snow Geese premiered on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman theatre in October 2013, starring Mary Louise Parker, Victoria Clark and Danny Burstein, and directed by Daniel Sullivan, as a co-production between Manhattan Theatre Club and MCC Theatre.

Annapurna marks the company directorial debut of Third Rail's Isaac Lamb. He's directed award winning shows around Portland from Broadway Rose to Oregon Children's Theatre, Portland Playhouse to CoHo Productions, but this will be his first spin in the director's chair at his artistic home.

Annapurna marks the return to the stage of Third Rail's Bruce Burkhartsmeier, one of Portland's most beloved actors, since his performance as Uncle Benjamin in The Apple Family Plays.

Annapurna is an intimate "two-hander" which takes place in a dingy trailer at the foot of a mountain. We'll be dramatically reconfiguring the Imago Theatre space to bring the audience as close to the action as possible. This will be our first stab at changing the theatre layout at Imago and it should be very exciting.

Stars Karen Trumbo and Bruce Burkhartsmeier have known each other for decades, once renting out the same Ladd's Addition house with other local theatre artists. Their friendship goes back years, having both worked for OSF when it founded OSF-Portland (which would become Portland Center Stage) and the much-lauded Portland Rep. Their particular connection as friends has made the rehearsal room electric with chemistry. This is sure to translate to the audience, and their personal history would make for a fascinating background piece.

Tickets Available: By phone at 503-235-1101 or online at thirdrailrep.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.