New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


?>

 

Review: "Annapurna" at NJ Rep


By Gary Wien

originally published: 10/14/2012


(LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- New Jersey Repertory Company continues its long history of premiering new works with the East Coast premiere of "Annapurna" by Sharr White. This is the 85th new play produced by NJ Rep in the company's 15th year -- truly a remarkable achievement in an era in which people have a tendency to go only to plays that already know or which have a big name star involved. Some of their debuts are brilliant, some not so much; "Annapurna" is somewhere in between. It's a play with a lot of potential, but could use some tightening.

The play begins when Emma shows up unexpectedly at the mobile home of Ulysses (her former husband) twenty years after she walked out on him. A series of quick scenes -- starting at the present and then flashing two minutes later, three minutes later, and five minutes later -- take place before the play settles in the time of a few hours after her arrival. To me, these quick scene changes seemed like an unnecessary gimmick. The scenes don't really tell much other than show just what a surprise it was for her to be there. One would imagine someone showing up unexpectedly after 20 years would be such a surprise, we really don't need four quick scenes to get that point across. I think all the quick scene cuts did was make it difficult for the actors (Gina Bonati as Emma and Peter Galman as Ulysses) to really get into a groove.

Thankfully, after this rather rocky start, "Annapurna" settles into a pretty interesting portrayal of how one moment can change the lives of people forever. In this case, it was an incident that led Emma to leave Ulysses (her husband) and take their young child away, never to return nor contact him at all until she shows up at his mobile home in Paonia, Colorado on this day.

Ulysses is a former college professor, famous poet, and former alcoholic who hasn't had a drink in several years. His mobile home is a disaster zone with ants, roaches, and five pounds of bad sausage that he bought from the dollar store. When Emma shows up, Ulysses is frying some sausage, wearing nothing but an apron and the oxygen tank across his back that is keeping him alive. Emma begs him to put some clothes on, but he replies, "If you show up unexpectedly, you take what you get."

Everybody in his mobile home community wears as little clothing as possible due to the heat and the altitude. The community is full of people in situations like Ulysses is in. He describes the residents as having a bad case of CDS - can't do shit. "It's like the ugliest, saddest nudist camp you ever saw," said Ulysses.

Emma knows Ulysses is dying from advanced emphysema and lung cancer because her son Sam hired a private investigator to find his father. The investigator found recent records of Ulysses in the hospital, which inspired Sam to visit his father before he passed on. At first, she tells Ulysses that she is just passing through, but soon reveals that she actually left her husband three days earlier.




Reach New Jersey's largest arts & entertainment audience, click here for info on how to advertise at NJ Stage



Ulysses is living off disability, food stamps, and is waiting for a royalty check of $12 from his first poetry book. Emma goes out and purchases some groceries for him with money she stole from her husband. She's actually got over $17,000 in cash with her -- enough to help him until he dies.


Ulysses has little memory of the night his wife left him, but assumes he must have done something horrible. In essence, his mobile home has been like a self-imposed form of purgatory for him.

"If the punishment fits the crime, I must have been some kind of monster to you," he says while he tries to piece together what happened to the last 20 years of their lives -- the letters he sent each week to his son, where the two of them went after that night, where his son grew up, and the biggest missing piece of all -- what really happened on the night she left.

Life for Ulysses pretty much fell apart after Emma and his son left, but her life wasn't much better. It seems the past has a funny way of catching up to us all at one point or another. For Emma, that happened when she read through the letters sent by Ulysses over the years. She realized just how much she loved him and how great of a writer he was, and saw her own version of purgatory within the world she always thought would be better for her and her son. In the years since, he's written just one poem -- an epic he calls "Annapurna" about his wife and son. He brings out the various pieces of paper and napkins that formulate his poem for her just in case he dies.

The play has much good going for it, but a little tightening would help it greatly. In addition to the opening scenes previously mentioned; a dog (as with the famous story of Ulysses), which is part of the opening minutes and then barely referenced ever again, probably could be either enhanced or simply dropped. Likewise, the incident that took place on the night that changed both of their lives is never really explained well. It's sort of left as a bit of a mystery, but considering how much effort went into the lead up to that point, it's left as a rather unfulfilling explanation for the audience. Nevertheless, the play's best moments far outshine these weaknesses. Before the play began, Gabor Barabas discussed how NJ Rep is always interested in plays that explore the human condition. This play certainly fits that bill. It's wonderfully touching in parts, humorous in others, and, in the end, shows just how precious time really is.


"Annapurna" is playing now through November 18 at New Jersey Repertory Company (179 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ). For more information visit http://www.njrep.org

PHOTOS BY SuzAnne Barabas.


Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Upstage Magazine, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station The Penguin Rocks. He can be contacted at gary@newjerseystage.com.



Reach New Jersey's largest arts & entertainment audience, click here for info on how to advertise at NJ Stage



FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Vivid

Vivid Summer Solos: My Name is Lucy Barton

Wednesday, July 16, 2025 @ 6:30pm
Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
68 Elm Street, Summit, NJ 07901
category: theatre


 

The

The Mallard

Thursday, July 17, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Premiere Stages - Bauer Boucher Theatre Center
1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ 07083
category: theatre


 

The

The MAC players at the Middletown Arts Center present "Hairspray"

Friday, July 18, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Middletown Arts Center
36 Church Street, Middletown, NJ 07748
category: theatre


 

The

The Mallard

Friday, July 18, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Premiere Stages - Bauer Boucher Theatre Center
1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ 07083
category: theatre


 

Good

Good Riddance; A Gnarly Murder Mystery Dinner, Dude!

Friday, July 18, 2025 @ 6:00pm
Carteret Performing Arts Center
46 Washington Ave, Carteret, NJ 07008
category: theatre


 


 

EVENT PREVIEWS

"Jimmy

"Jimmy Buffet's Escape to Margaritaville" Enters Final Weekend at Centenary Stage Company

(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company's production of Jimmy Buffett's Escape to Margaritaville enters its final weekend of performances in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center. The musical, which opened on July 10th, concludes its limited run with performances from Wednesday, July 16 through Sunday, July 20, 2025.



The

The 7th Annual Rogue Theater Festival to Present 37 New Productions

(NEW YORK, NY) -- Rogue Theatre Festival (RTF) returns with a bold and eclectic lineup for their 7th annual celebration of new works. This year, the festival will showcase 37 original plays and musicals, including fully staged productions, short plays, staged readings, and digital streaming performances. The Flea Theatre in Tribeca hosts this year's festival with performances running August 4-10, 2025 running in association with Abingdon Theatre Company. Staged Readings will be performed in The Pete theatre, series of Shorts and Fully Staged productions will take place in The Siggy at The Flea.



Without

Without a Clue Productions presents "Mrs. Roper Romp" and "A Golden Girls Murder Mystery: A Family Affair" at Resorts Casino Hotel

(ATLANTIC CITY, NJ) -- Without a Cue Productions heads to the Jersey Shore this summer with two cult classics coming to Atlantic City. Come for the caftan muumuus and stay for the Janet and Jack Tripper cocktails, as Mrs. Roper Romp brings the wild 70s fun to Resorts Casino Hotel. Don your best Mrs. Roper costume (and red curly haired wig!) and win fun prizes as you play party games and dance to Yacht rock inspired by the iconic hit show Three's Company. From the 70s to the 80s and early 90s, get ready to celebrate your favorite Golden Girls.



The

The Theater Project presents Kaleidoscope Kabaret 2025 in Summit

(SUMMIT, NJ) -– Six playwrights. Fourteen actors. Three singers. A band.



The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

'The Complete Works of William Shakespeare' Extends Its Run in Madison, NJ

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (STNJ)'s summer offering is The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again]. It is a fast paced, high energy, and humorous presentation of the works of The Bard.