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You’ll Free Fall For This Wonderful Ripcord

Theater Reviews, , , , , ,

Ripcord

The Huntington Theatre Company

Calderwood Pavillion, South End
Through July 2

Reviewed by Bobby Franklin

Abby is living in an assisted living facility. She is cranky, miserable, and has driven out every roommate that has been paired with her. Marilyn, always upbeat with a sunny disposition, is her latest roommate. Abby wants her out and Marilyn will not leave. The two make a bet with the winner to get her way. This leads to the two of them doing some pretty nasty things to each other. Sounds like pretty depressing stuff? Well, it turns out this is one of the funniest plays you will ever see.

You will love this play!
Nancy E. Carroll
(Photo: T. Charles Erickson)

Nancy E. Carroll is perfect as the cantankerous, miserable, and at times cruel Abby who rarely betrays even a hint of a smile. She is also extremely funny. Annie Golden plays Marilyn who is a Pollyanna, always smiling and seeing the good in everything. Oh, she can play hard when it comes to fighting back against Abby. Both actors play off of each other perfectly. Add to the mix Scotty (Ugo Chukawa) a health aid and also an aspiring actor, who has to deal with these two terrors. Marilyn’s daughter Colleen (Laura Latreille) and son-in-law Derek (Richard Prioleau)  are apples that haven’t fallen far from the tree and you end up with a fast paced work with impeccable comedic timing.

This production has added incidental music along with some very fun dance numbers during set changes. I have not seen Ripcord before but I am sure these additions only enhance it. At the performance I attended the audience loved  these additions.

Cast of Ripcord
(Photo: T. Charles Ericson)

I don’t want to go on too much about what happens here as it will spoil the fun for those of you who decide to see it, and you definitely should head over to the Calderwood for this one. I will tease you a bit with a brief list of things that occur. There is a mugging by a very tall rabbit, a trip through a house of horrors, a skydiving adventure, and much, much more. It is amazing how these situations are staged. The set design, effects, and lighting are all incredible. By intermission youl will be wondering how much more could be left to surprise you. Believe me, there is plenty.

Annie Golden
(Photo: T. Charles Erickson)

Ripcord, by David Lindsay-Abaire,and directed by the wonderful Jessica Stone, as well as being funny is also a deeply moving story about two women who are facing the challenges of growing old and dealing with their pasts. Under all of the laughter we are given much to ponder. There is a touching, sad, and even cruel scene where Abby meets her estranged son Benjamin (Eric T. Miller). Marilyn is also a much deeper character than she seems at first glance. There is pain under her happy exterior. It turns out the two women have a lot  in common. Even with all of the laughter you will be deeply moved by this work. This really is, in the end, a very provocative piece that has us deal with what it is like to age and look back on our lives. It is told with, as I have said, much humor. But, it is a work filled with respect and understanding of these very difficult issues.

This has been a great theatre season in Boston. The Huntington, Lyric, and SpeakEasy have all treated us to some wonderful work these past months. Ripcord is a great way to cap this season. You will love this play! Don’t miss it.

huntingtontheatre.org

617.266.0800

HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS THE COMEDY RIPCORD BY DAVID LINDSAY-ABAIRE

Theatre Announcements, , ,

BEGINS FRIDAY, MAY 26 AT THE HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY, CALDERWOOD PAVILLION

The Huntington Theatre Company will present the uproarious comedy Ripcord by Pulitzer Prize winner and Boston native David Lindsay-Abaire (Good People, Rabbit Hole) and directed by Jessica Stone (Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike). Performances begin Friday, May 26 at the South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA.

“With Ripcord, we welcome back two comedic geniuses to the Huntington: Boston native David Lindsay-Abaire and Jessica Stone,” says Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois. “David is among the greatest playwrights ever to come out of the City of Boston and the author of our smash-hit about Southie, Good People. Jessica Stone is a lauded actress and the director of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. With this kind of genius at work, it is no surprise that this play is laugh-out-loud funny with a truly moving underbelly. It’s The Odd Couple with old women, nursing home shenanigans, and skydiving – what’s not to love?”

In this deliciously inappropriate new comedy, cantankerous Abby is forced to share her room in assisted living with endlessly chipper Marilyn. The two women make a seemingly harmless bet that quickly escalates into a dangerous and hilarious game of one-upmanship, revealing hidden truths that neither wants exposed.

“I’m thrilled to be back in my hometown, and back at the Huntington which has been my theatrical home in Boston,” says playwright David Lindsay-Abaire. “I’m especially excited that Huntington audiences are going to get to see Ripcord, which is another kind of homecoming for me, as it’s a return to my earlier style of playwriting – more overtly comic, outrageous, whimsical, and a little vicious. But most importantly, of all my plays, Ripcord is my mother’s favorite, so I’m happy that she’ll only have to travel a few T stops to see it.”

“I’m so excited to be jumping into the absurd and moving world of David Lindsay-Abaire,” says director Jessica Stone. “The Huntington and Boston both have ties to this artist and his unique perspective. I look forward to creating my own and to the discoveries that follow and to being back at the Huntington where some of my favorite theatrical experiences have taken shape.”

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
The cast includes Nancy E. Carroll (I Was Most Alive with You; Rapture, Blister, Burn; and Good People at the Huntington) as Abby, a short-tempered woman who is determined not to share a room at her assisted living facility. Despite her efforts, she is paired with the gregarious and optimistic Marilyn played by Annie Golden (“Orange is the New Black” and the film Hair). Marilyn’s daughter Colleen is played by Laura Latreille (Ryan Landry’s “M” and Mauritius at the Huntington) and her son-in-law Derek is played by Richard Prioleau (A Raisin in the Sun at Seattle Repertory Theatre). Eric T. Miller (Awake and Sing! at the Huntington) appears as a figure from one of the women’s past, and the young resident aid Scotty is played by Ugo Chukwu (The Bad and the Better at The Amoralists).

David Lindsay-Abaire (Playwright) is a Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright, screenwriter, lyricist, and librettist. His plays Good People and Rabbit Hole have both been produced at the Huntington. Rabbit Hole was honored with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, five Tony Award nominations, and the Spirit of America Award. Good People premiered on Broadway and received two Tony Award nominations and the 2011 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play of the Year. Most recently, his production of Ripcord was produced at Manhattan Theatre Club. Other plays include Fuddy Meers, Kimberly Akimbo, Wonder of the World, and A Devil Inside. Mr. Lindsay-Abaire is also a screenwriter, lyricist, and librettist. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award and two Tony Awards (Best Score and Best Book of a Musical) for his work on Shrek the Musical and the Kleban Award as America’s most promising musical theatre lyricist. Mr. Lindsay-Abaire’s screen credits include the film adaptation of Rabbit Hole (starring Nicole Kidman, Academy Award nomination), Rise of the Guardians (Dreamworks), and Oz: The Great and Powerful (Disney).

Jessica Stone (Director) returns to the Huntington after directing Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike, based on Nicholas Martin’s Broadway direction. She has worked as an actress on Broadway and Off Broadway, and in television and film, for the last 25 years. She performed in the Huntington’s productions of She Loves Me, Betty’s Summer Vacation, and Springtime for Henry (director Nicholas Martin). Ms. Stone’s directing credits include A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Two River Theater, Williamstown Theatre Festival), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Bucks County Playhouse), Arms and the Man (The Old Globe), Absurd Person Singular (Two River Theater), Charlotte’s Web (TheatreWorksUSA), and June Moon and Last of the Red Hot Lovers (Williamstown Theatre Festival).

The Huntington’s production of Ripcord features scenic design by Tobin Ost (Newsies on Broadway); costume design by Gabriel Berry (Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike at the Huntington); lighting design by David J. Weiner (Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike, Butley, and Springtime for Henry at the Huntington); sound design and composition by Mark Bennett (A Confederacy of Dunces and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at the Huntington); and projection design by Lucy Mackinnon (I Was Most Alive with You at the Huntington). Production stage manager is Emily F. McMullen and stage manager is Kevin Schlagle.

The Huntington’s 2016-2017 season is sponsored through the generosity of Sheryl and Gerard Cohen, Carol G. Deane, and J. David Wimberly. The production sponsors for Ripcord are Bette and John Cohen.

www.huntingtontheatre.org  Phone: 617.266.0800