Ripcord, by David Lindsay-Abaire

Premiered October 1, 2015, commissioned by the Manhattan Theatre Club, directed by David Hyde-Pierce.

 

Ripcord (Play) Plot & Characters

Synopsis

For 4 years, irritable and sarcastic Abby Binder has kept a room to herself at the Bristol Place Senior Living Facility, through sheer force of her rude personality. Nursing disappointment at the direction her life has taken, she has no room for distraction. When bubbly, bright, and unbearably cheerful Marilyn Dunne is placed in her room, Abby tries her usual tricks, but fails to scare her annoying new roommate away. She gets no sympathy from Scotty, the resident aide, who refuses to use any clout he may or may not have with management to remove Marilyn. Marilyn, for her part, loves the challenge of Abby’s bad attitude, and refuses to budge. Exercising her taste for competition and her love of pranks, Marilyn makes a bet: if Abby can break her endless patience and make her angry, she will move out. But if she can successfully frighten Abby, who claims never to get scared, she will get the bed by the window. In her favor, Abby has her wide mean streak, which gives her no qualms about filling in Marilyn’s Sudoku, tearing up her grandson’s pictures, or digging up police reports about her violent ex-husband. But Marilyn has a devoted family — with a skydiving business — on her side, as well as a the most dangerous thing of all, a genuine wish to see Abby happy… As this odd couple embarks upon increasingly emotionally and physically dangerous tricks in order to break each other, secrets are revealed, lives are jeopardized, and peach cobbler is enjoyed.

David Lindsay-Abaire’s Ripcord is an often slapstick, always surprising comedy, an enemies-to-friends story for a pair of excellently well-rounded, mature women.