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Overview

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.

Show Information

Category
Play
Age Guidance
Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
Number of Acts
2
First Produced
2015
Genres
Comedy
Settings
Contemporary, Multiple Settings
Time & Place
Abby and Marilyn’s room, Bristol Place Senior Living Facility, New Jersey, the present (2010s)
Cast Size
medium
Ideal For
Community Theatre, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Mature Adult, Elderly, Young Adult Characters, Medium Cast

Context

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Plot

Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

Marilyn Dunne

Lead

Female

Spoken

Abby Binder

Lead

Female

Spoken

Scotty

Supporting

Male

Spoken

Colleen

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Derek

Supporting

Male

Spoken

Benjamin

Featured

Male

Spoken

Lewis

Featured

Male

Spoken

Clown

Featured

Male

Spoken

Woman in White

Featured

Female

Spoken

Zombie Butler

Featured

Male

Spoken

Songs

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A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

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Scenes

All scenes are the property and copyright of their owners. Scenes are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. If you would like to give a public performance of this scene, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor.

Key Terms

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Videos

Quizzes

Themes, Symbols & Motifs

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Quote Analysis

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