MARK AUERBACH
CHESTER – The Chester Theatre Company is celebrating its 25th Anniversary season with a production of up-and-coming playwright Sharr White’s two-character play, “Annapurna”, a sometimes comic drama about former lovers and spouses, whose lives converge after a twenty year absence. For many, a reason to visit Chester will be an opportunity to see former Westfield resident, the actress Michelle Joyner, who is now based in Los Angeles.
Sharr White is definitely a young American playwright to watch. His play “The Snow Geese” played on Broadway last season, and his earlier Broadway venture “The Other Place”, has been seen in many regional theatres, including Hartford’s TheaterWorks and Pittsfield’s Barrington Stage Company. Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman starred in “Annapurna” in Los Angeles, and later appeared together in an Off-Broadway production last Spring.
Set in a run-down trailer (beautifully-designed by Vicki Davis) in Colorado, we find Ulysses (Daniel Riordan), a sometimes cowboy, sometimes poet, lounging naked attached to an oxygen tank, amidst clutter. Emma (Michelle Joyner), his ex-wife and mother of his child, arrives unexpectedly. Emma has walked out on her current husband, as she had walked out on Ulysses. Over the course of this tautly written play, we learn why Emma walked out on both, why Ulysses can’t remember the reason for her departure, and watch both of them negotiate difficult truths.
Robert Egan’s staging serves playwright White’s script well, and the physical production (costuming by Charles Schoonmaker, lighting by Lara Dubin, and sound by Tom Shread) fill every inch of the very small Chester Town Hall stage. A note to those attending Chester Theatre productions: the auditorium and playing areas are compact, and it feels like a theatre production is being staged in your living room.
Most audience members came to see Michelle Joyner, as they knew her from either her days in Pittsfield or in Westfield. “Annapurna”, however, belongs to her co-star Daniel Riordan, who commands the stage for the entire play. A rich voice, star presence, and a well-written character to develop add up to a great performance. Joyner is much more understated. Her performance, at times complex, is small. Her character is more difficult to sympathize with, so she doesn’t get the script’s fireworks until more than halfway through the play.
It’s always great to see hometown folk return to their backyards to do theatre, and Joyner, and director Egan (Joyner’s off-stage husband) now summer just miles from the Chester Theatre Company. Hopefully, they’ll return in subsequent seasons.
The Chester Theatre Company presents “Annapurna” by Sharr White. Directed by Robert Egan. Scenic design by Vicki Davis. Costume design by Charles Schoonmaker. Lighting design by Lara Dubin. Sound design by Tom Shread. Cast: Daniel Riordan (Ulysses), Michelle Joyner (Emma). Through July 20, 2014. Chester Theatre Company, Chester, MA. For tickets: 413-354-7771 or www.chestertheatre.org
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked for arts organizations and reported on theatre for newspapers and radio.
