Review: Stage Door’s ‘Ripcord’ blends comedy and emotion for a sitcom-like experience 

Who doesn’t love a good buddy comedy? David Lindsay-Abaire’s Ripcord, which runs through October 18 at Stage Door Theatre, combines those well-worn charms with tonal balance and Golden Girls-inspired absurdity to create an amusing and surprisingly heartwarming story.

The play is set in a quaint nursing home, the current abode of Abigail (Suzanne Roush), a protective and sharp-tongued woman who is eager to live out her later years in peace. That peace is constantly interrupted by her roommate Marilyn (Shelly McCook), a bubbly ball of sunshine who has made it her mission in life to break through Abby’s hard-shelled exterior. Abby, meanwhile, is desperate to get Marilyn out.

When a bed opens up on a different floor, Abby decides to take Marilyn up on a bet: If Abby can successfully make the indomitably good-natured Marilyn angry, then she gets the room all to herself. If Marilyn can scare Abby (who claims nothing scares her), then Marilyn not only gets to stay in the room but gets the better bed. What follows is a series of schemes from both women that quickly escalates into the absurd.

What is remarkable about the script, and Lilliangina Quinones’ direction, is the deft tonal maneuvering on display. Much of Ripcord plays out like a sitcom, driven by the sheer inanity of two senior women engaging in what essentially amounts to a prank war. However, there are moments when playwright Lindsay-Abaire will pull a hard left into something deeper, revealing the fears, insecurities and complicated family dynamics that inform Abby and Marilyn’s personalities. Quinones rides these shifts with skill, making sure that when these more grounded elements emerge, they don’t feel like a hard twist.

The result is that the audience comes to really care about Abby and Marilyn’s burgeoning rapport. Their Odd Couple chemistry is supported by sharp performances from Roush and McCook. Roush brings an acerbic wit to Abby, while McCook plays Marilyn with an exaggerated cheerfulness that starts out as over-the-top but grows to become endearing. Their chemistry takes a bit of time to settle, but, once it does, it becomes the centerpiece of the play. In opposites-attract stories such as this, one of the greatest challenges can be making the eventual shift from animosity to friendship believable, and Roush and McCook manage that primarily due to the nuanced nature of their performances.

The supporting cast is strong for the most part. Franz-Joseph Castillo starts off somewhat stiff as nurse Scotty but hits a stride in the second act. Durrell Lyons, Eliana Marianes and Bryan Montemayor play numerous secondary and ancillary roles. Lyons and Marianes are fun as Marilyn’s daughter and son-in-law, who serve as her helpers in scaring Abby, while Montemayor has perhaps the most nuanced and tense scene in the play as Abby’s estranged son.

Scenic designer Karl Dickey does a good job of making the space feel lived in, though the flats that make up the back walls are not sturdy enough for how often the cast interacts with them. Seeing the walls wobble when someone opens a door too quickly is a bit distracting.

Lighting designer Lindsay Sharpless and sound designer De’Janna Scales-Hand only get a handful of opportunities to flex their muscles, but they make them count, such as when Abby and Marilyn go to a haunted house and they get to use the lights and sound to create a spooky ambience.

Ripcord is a fairly simple play but a rewarding one. In terms of comedy, it is mostly just funny enough, only occasionally touching on hilarious. Still, the way sentimentality and emotional stakes are blended into the comedy are what really make the production stand out.

Where and When

Ripcord is at Stage Door Theatre through October 18. Tickets, $36.
5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road.

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Luke Evans is an Atlanta-based writer, critic and dramaturg. He covers theater for ArtsATL and Broadway World Atlanta and has worked with theaters such as the Alliance, Actor’s Express, Out Front Theatre and Woodstock Arts. He’s a graduate of Oglethorpe University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree, and the University of Houston, where he earned his master’s.