When I went to opening night of Ripcord at HART Theatre, it was the second comedy I had seen in as many days. The first (which shall remain nameless) was a beautifully done production of a classic work, set on a large and elegantly dressed stage. By contrast, playwright David Lindsay-Abaire’s play was brand new to me, performed with minimal bells and whistles in the tiny Hillsboro venue. Two very different productions on many levels – but the most important difference between the two shows was that, unlike its thoroughly pedigreed rival, Ripcord made me laugh. A lot. Director Tony Broom and his highly versatile cast (6 people play a total of 10 roles) make the most of Lindsay-Abaire’s darkly comic script, and the payoff for the audience is enormous.
The premise is sort of The Odd Couple on steroids. Two residents of a high-rise assisted living facility, Abby and Marilyn, are sharing the most desirable room in the house, a top-floor double with a lovely view overlooking the park. For several years, Abby has used her thoroughly unpleasant personality to drive out a succession of roommates, ensuring that she will be able to live alone. The impossibly upbeat and positive Marilyn, however, refuses to yield to Abby’s increasingly overt attempts to repel her. At a stalemate, the two adversaries agree to an unusual bet – Marilyn will move out if Abby succeeds in making her angry, and Abby (who claims to never be frightened) will cede the best real estate (the bed by the window) if Marilyn manages to scare her. Over the course of a couple of weeks, the two women turn to increasingly nasty tricks, some of them over-the-top dangerous and some really vicious, working their way to the final prank and the show’s climax.
Diana LoVerso (Abby) and Kathleen Silloway (Marilyn) are both experienced in their adversarial roles, having previously battled it out in The Odd Couple, Female Version. However, their current roles call for a more complex approach to character; each of them portrays a woman who is not exactly who she initially seems to be. Ripcord has been accurately described as a farce with a dark side, and Silloway gives her “Marilyn” a correspondingly Pollyanna-like surface that offers quick glimpses of an inner demon. LoVerso has a similarly deft touch as “Abby” – she is convincingly and consistently nasty, but resists the urge to overplay the role and thus leaves the door open to soften (slightly) her hostile affect at the denouement. Both women are skilled comedians who leave no laughs on the table, but both understand that the more the situations go over the top, the more essential it is that the actors play it completely straight.
I was gratified to see how well Les Ico (who often plays the consummate clown – beautifully) toned down his inner comic as Scotty, the nurse/aide/aspiring actor who has to mediate between the battling roommates. While he fills a key role in the development of the story, Ico’s performance is also one long set-up for a final joke, and he never gives anything away until it’s time for the punch line. The final three cast members (Beth Moore, Charly Smith, and Bryce Bristow) have less to do, despite filling a total of seven roles, but each has a core character essential to the story and each finds within that character just the right touch.
The set is simple – minimal but reasonably authentic for the half of the stage that is Abby and Marilyn’s room, and virtually a black box for the other half. Costume coordinator Kelcey Weaver has done a lovely job of assembling the authentic apparel needed for the weird and often absurd action that sometimes explodes stage right.
Due to strong language and some mature situations, Ripcord is not really appropriate for younger children.
Ripcord is playing at the HART Theatre, 185 SE Washington, Hillsboro through September 25th, with performances Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
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