Review: Dramatic duel cuts to the bone in ‘Annapurna’

Written By: Lawrance Bernabo, for the News Tribune | Jun 2nd 2016 – 11pm.

Why did the Duluth Playhouse put “Annapurna” on their schedule? Quite simply it was to have a pair of performers like John Pokrzywinski and Christine Winkler Johnson sink their acting chops into the play’s final scene, which runs about an hour, and mesmerizes the audience into a breathless silence.

Two obvious questions about the two-person drama that opened Thursday night at the Playhouse, would be, “What does ‘Annapurna’ mean?” and “What is the play about?”

Exactly.

But the answers should come from the performance and not the review (plus, if I spilled the beans, there would be ants). Let me tell you in a single sentence what I knew about this play before I saw it, so we share the same vantage point.

In a barely inhabitable trailer propped up on blocks somewhere in the wilds of Colorado lives Ulysses, a poet and defrocked professor, who is gob smacked to discover his ex-wife Emma has arrived on the premises 20 years after they last saw each other.

Ulysses is isolated by choice, if not intention. A scruffy-looking Pokrzywinski’s investment in the role is clear every time the muscles in his neck go so taunt you think his head is going to explode. His objections to Emma’s presence evaporate as he proves to be a moveable object, but his wit remains sharp even if his will is not.

To say that Emma arrives with a lot of baggage is true in more ways than one, and it takes a while for everything to get unpacked. Winkler Johnson takes to cleaning the trailer with a purpose, as much as to avoid getting to the myriad reasons for her visit as to refrain from being made physically ill by her surroundings. Her performance is that of an emotional ecdysiast, giving a different shading to each level slowly revealed in turn.

Performed without an intermission, “Annapurna” begins with a series of short scenes followed by blackouts. My initial reaction was that Sharr White’s drama was taking a while to find the right gear, but in retrospect these initial offerings are clearly designed to give us the lay of the land for that final scene when the heavy excavation gets underway with a vengeance.

White’s explicit premise is that just because you leave someone does not mean you are not in a relationship with them the rest of your life. The edge of the play’s humor is more paper cuts than gut punches. White saves the body blows for the epic climactic scene.

There are a few moments where I think the actors can take another beat or two, but director Julie Ahasay keeps the pace brisk, and the performances certainly captivate the audience.

Anne Gumpper’s scenic design for the trailer’s interior-most of the cabinets still have their doors-is guaranteed to make every other man cave immaculate in comparison. A mountain vista is projected on the rear wall while a sea of giant pages with cursive writing surrounds the trailer.

Bonus points are awarded for using “20 Years” by the Civil Wars as the evening’s pitch-perfect musical coda.