For its summer fare, the Town Players of Newtown are producing Sharr White’s Annapurna, a two-person play about the endurance of love.

Performances continue at The Little Theatre weekends through August 10.

In a remote mobile home park near Mount Gunnison in Paonia, Colorado, an aging, lonely poet named Ulysses (played by Alexander Kulscar) and his erstwhile wife, Emma (Ann Kinner), reconnect after at least a decade apart. While their torturous past and explosive separation is embedded in Emma’s memory, Ulysses recalls not an iota of the events.

His has an alcohol-infused past and is unable to remember the frightening and disturbing reason Emma fled with their young son in the middle of the night.

Emma has created a new life and family with her second husband, yet when she finds out Ulysses is very ill, she cannot deny that she still cares for him. She finds him alone and isolated in his dilapidated trailer. He is bitter and angry; she is there to forgive him. Much is said between the two, revealing the depth of their feelings for each other, both benevolent and resentful.

Mr Kulscar’s Ulysses is riveting. He is off-putting and at times endearing. His life has been both accomplished and pathetic by way of the addiction that alienates him.

This talented actor finds the soul of this character and authentically renders him.

The set was also designed by Mr Kulscar. It is designed in such a way as to metaphorically reflect the personality and temperament of Ulysses, complete with broken cabinets, sticky drawers, and a refrigerator full of rotting food. His performance as well as set design are commendable.

Repulsed by the circumstances she encounters when she finds Ulysses, Ms Kinner’s Emma is undeterred. Almost as though she cannot control the desire to care for this deteriorating man, she pushes through his defiance and her own confusion as to what has delivered her here. The question of “why” hangs thick in the air. Hers is a moving performance.

Sharr White’s Annapurna is in excellent hands under the direction of Ruth Anne Baumgartner. The suspense builds so carefully until it is unavoidable. This is a beautifully structured play with fine performances that should not be missed.

The Little Theatre is at 18 Orchard Hill Road. Call 203-270-9144 or visit [naviga:u]newtownplayers.org[/naviga:u] for the full performance schedule and reservations.