Divorce can be an ugly thing.
That’s clear in “Annapurna,” which Live Theatre Workshop opens in previews Thursday, May 11.
The Sharr White play is about a couple, Emma and Ulysses, who have been apart for 20 years.
When Emma hears that Ulysses is in a downward spiral, living in squalor, breathing with the help of an oxygen tank, she seeks him out.
Here are three reasons we consider the play a must-see:
The cast: This two-person play stars a couple of our favorite Tucson actors: Keith Wick and Rhonda Hallquist. Wick, who earlier this year held the stage in Live Theatre’s one-man show “Buyer & Cellar,” has a well-honed comedic instinct. But he has a serious side to him, too: We still remember his chilling performance in LTW’s 2011 production of “How I Learned to Drive.” Hallquist was most recently seen in Live Theatre’s February production of “The Cripple of Inishmaan,” and she nailed the part of the overbearing Irish aunt. And we still count her 2011 performance in “Reckless,” about a woman who ups and leaves her husband with some hysterical, and sometimes heartbreaking, results, as one we will long remember. Both actors are adept at slipping into the skin of their characters and bringing plays to vivid life.
The director: Sabin Trout has helmed some of Live Theatre’s best productions, among them January’s “Buyer & Cellar” and last season’s “The Savannah Disputation.” She has a touch that can underscore the heart and punctuate the humor.
The reviews: Praise has been heaped on the play. The San Francisco Chronicle called it a “a comic and gripping duet,” the Huffington Post said that “at the heart of each character is a lyricism that simply can’t be suffocated,” and the Los Angeles Times called it “remarkable.”
