Patti Flaherty, Emma Regnier, and Susan Perrin-Sallak in Ripcord (photo by Nat20 Photography)
Ripcord, now playing at the Spotlight Theatre, is a hoot, as well as an all-too-relatable piece of storytelling for those with ornery parents or grandparents. Sharply directed by Jessica Taylor, and featuring an incredible cast, this show is a charming addition to a long summer season.
The premise is basically The Odd Couple, but for two aging women instead of two midlife-crisis men. Abby (Susan Perrin-Sallak) resides in an assisted living center. She’s recently been saddled with an overly peppy roommate, Marilyn (Patti Flaherty). Abby likes her privacy; Marilyn likes annoying Abby. Upon hearing that another resident of the home has died, Abby pleads with her nurse Scotty (Emma Regnier) to get Marilyn reassigned to the newly open bed. Upon finding this out, however, Marilyn makes a bet with Abby: If Abby can make the perpetually happy Marilyn angry just once, Marilyn will move out. But if Marilyn can scare Abby, Marilyn will remain in the room and get the better bed – the one by the window.
From there, it’s a series of progressively more absurd and hilarious acts of one-upmanship. What starts as a trip to a “heart-stopping haunted house” ends as … . Well, I won’t say what, but the laughs start strong and only grow in intensity. David Lindsay-Abaire's script is wonderful and walks a perfect balance between ridiculous and totally believable. It often made me think of what it would've been like to have my dearly passed grandmothers rooming together: a nightmare for everyone else in their vicinity, but delightfully hilarious in retrospect. Beyond the comedy, of which there’s a lot, there are also several moments of poignant clarity, with a particular standout being the closing scene of Act I, from which the play derives its name. Taylor smartly gives the comedy and thoughtfulness equal room to breathe.
Lindsay-Abaire's touching script is buoyed by a razor-sharp cast. The three main actors all bring effortless naturalism to their parts and do a fantastic job of capturing the nuance of assisted living. Regnier is fun to watch as she juggles being both professional and at wit’s end with those in her care. Perrin-Sallak is appropriately grumpy and gives the best line reading I've ever heard of “motherf-----” (one of the few expletives employed in the show, and used immaculately). Meanwhile, Flaherty brings her usual charm and presence to the stage while clearly having a blast torturing her co-star.
Beyond these three are the Ripcord ensemble, all of whom play multiple roles. Emmalee Hilburn is excellent in both of her parts and knows how to milk laugh lines for all they’re worth. Jeremy Mahr also does tremendous work on double duty and matched Friday's increasing energy with aplomb. But my favorite performance of the evening was that of Will Crouch, who went for broke with both of his bit roles yet spoke untold volumes by simply standing in a doorway as Abby's long-estranged son. His presence is commanding, and Crouch can communicate worlds of emotion even with silence.
Off-stage, there’s also praise to go around. Kudos to Taylor for her wise use of the space that extended both beyond the walls of the nursing home and the boundaries of the stage. Heather Blair's costume design is varied and effective. And a special shout-out goes to Brant Peitersen for bringing some actual hype and energy to his work as scene-change crew.
I only have two gripes – and one of them has nothing to do with the show's quality. First, opening night was not super-well attended. This is a gripe because the Spotlight’s typical sound issues were finally gone (I suspect, in part, from the lack of music and the reduced number of body mics). But Ripcord being a play and not a musical likely depressed audience turnout … and that's a shame, because this is a really fun production, and I would love to see the Spotlight pursue non-musicals more frequently in the future.
Second, the set. Sure, Abby likes her privacy. But her nursing-home room is the entire width of the stage; her roommate may as well be in another zip code. (Abby would be the envy of every single college student who ever spent time in a dorm room.) Beyond the dissonance with the story, the set itself looked shoddy, with large gaps between panels that had no masking of any kind and wildly uneven coats of paint. I don’t know if it was a matter of time or resources, but it feels like the scenic design by co-owner Brent Tubbs got the short end of the stick.
Nitpicking aside, Ripcord really is a splendid show with a lot of heart. Its cast is uniformly excellent, and the story they’re telling is foundationally strong, thanks to both the writer and director. Our summer season of area theatre is finally winding down, so thankfully, there isn’t too much competition this coming week. If you have the opportunity, pull the Ripcord.
Ripcord runs at the Spotlight Theatre (1800 Seventh Avenue, Moline IL) through August 11, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)912-7647 and visiting TheSpotlightTheatreQC.com.
