THE OPENING NIGHT energy was palpable and light at the first performance of Third Rail Repertory Theatreâs Annapurna. The show begins inside a disheveled one-room trailer, where a man, naked except for a (welcome) apron, is cooking. A woman enters with a suitcase, launching a story of love and forgiveness after the end of a magnetic and codependent relationship.
Itâs the story of Emma (Karen Trumbo) and Ulysses (Bruce Burkhartsmeier), and it unfolds in one act over the course of 90 minutes. The few scenes are played staccato, with heavy repetition and Aaron Sorkin-style dialogue: âDonât pretend youâve never been been given a finger without taking the whole hand.â
âHoly crap,â says one character. âI know,â replies another. Those paired phrases repeat four times.
Itâd be easy to call Burkhartsmeierâs Ulysses the villain, and the more compelling of the two characters, but as in any relationship, it takes two. The actor plays Ulysses as a naĂŻve alcoholic whose emphysema is convincingly portrayed with labored breathing and coughing that persists throughout the show (hereâs your misophonia content warning). He oscillates between antagonist and victim, abused and abuser, compassionate and confused. Burkhartsmeier slays Ulyssesâ dialogue, balancing between moments of quiet and loud, and emotional poles of anger and sadness.
Just as itâd be easy to call Ulysses the villain, itâd be simple to write Trumboâs Emma off as codependent and annoying. As onlookers to this intensely chemistry-driven relationship, itâs easy to ask, âWhy the fuck would she do that?!â instead of imagining the hell sheâs going through. There are, of course, moments where Emma earns empathy from the audience, and where her actions are the most understandable, but there are just as many where sheâs basically yelling too much.
In other moments, Emma looks luminescent and angelicâthe lighting crew on this show is incredible, as is the design team. The mountainscape on the walls surrounding the trailer creates an intimacy between the characters onstage and the audience. We are in that trailer with Emma and Ulysses as they dig into and dissect their shit. Weâre in purgatory with them, complicit in the abuse, codependency, and potential forgiveness.
Annapurna was well received by the audience which at the performance I attended gave the play a standing ovation, but I found myself rooting for a murder-suicide at multiple points in the show. I was left unsatisfied as Emma and Ulysses instead found a detente through compassion and love. Itâs easy to find allegory, symbolism, and meaning in the dialogue, set, and framework of this productionâwas I hoping for that murder-suicide because I donât have enough compassion, love, or forgiveness for the shitheads in my life?âand the English major in me wants to dissect it all for you here, but thatâs where all the fun is, so youâll have to see it for yourself.