Ed Asner—the award-winning actor best known for his television role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show or as the crotchety old man’s voice in the Pixar film Up—brings his acting chops to what he calls the solo role of a lifetime: Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

By any measure, Asner’s physical look is not exactly a dead ringer for the 32nd president of the United States, but his stage presence and energy more than make up for this lack of physical similarity. The 90-minute show explores the complexities of the life of a leader during great economic and world crises and peppers those travails with personal anecdotes of problems with Eleanor, his struggle with polio and his mental tug-of-war with a domineering mother. Asner’s timing and warmth help remind the audience of the importance of The New Deal, those memorable “fireside chats” and why it is that FDR is the only president in history so beloved that he served more than two full terms in office.

Ed Asner in FDR @ Eccles Center for the Performing Arts, 1750 Kearns Blvd., Park City, 435-655-3114, March 5, 7:30 p.m., $18-$65. EcclesCenter.org