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Annapurna

  • Theater, Drama
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
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Time Out says

3 out of 5 stars

Annapurna. Acorn Theatre (see Off Broadway). By Sharr White. Directed by Bart DeLorenzo. With Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman. Running time: 1hr 35mins. No intermission.

Annapurna: In brief

Real-life spouses and sitcom royals Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) play a long-estranged couple who reunite after 20 years in a two-hander by the suddenly everywhere Sharr White (The Snow Geese). Bart DeLorenzo directs the NYC premiere for the New Group.

Annapurna: Theater review by Diane Snyder

Nick Offerman wears only a filthy apron and an oxygen tank in a backpack when Sharr White’s Annapurna begins. But that physical exposure is nothing compared to the emotional one awaiting his character, Ulysses, a poet and ex-professor who smoked himself to emphysema and lung cancer after overcoming a drinking problem. Still, it’s a darkly funny sight that sums up the tone White tries to evoke throughout this two-hander, a salty blend of Sam Shepard and sitcom that doesn’t coalesce.

Real-life husband-and-wife Offerman (Parks and Recreation) and Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) play ex-spouses who’ve been apart since Emma fled with their son 20 years ago. She instigates the reunion by showing up at his trailer, as decrepit and remote as he is, and lost memory comes into play, just as it did in White’s breakthrough work, The Other Place. While certain moments of Bart DeLorenzo’s production are poignant, these characters are merely writerly constructs. Mullally is good and Offerman excellent. With his body and voice quivering as he struggles to hold in feelings threatening to break free, he’s nearly as formidable as the mountain in the title.—Theater review by Diane Snyder

THE BOTTOM LINE Two TV stars add luster to a patchy play.

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Details

Event website:
thenewgroup.org
Address:
Contact:
212-239-6200
Price:
$75
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