OTHER BOOKS BY DAVID LINDSAY-ABAIRE
PUBLISHED BY TCG
Good People
Rabbit Hole
Ripcord is copyright © 2017 by David Lindsay-Abaire
Ripcord is published by Theatre Communications Group, Inc., 520 Eighth Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10018-4156
All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio or television reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that this material, being fully protected under the Copyright Laws of the United States of America and all other countries of the Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions, is subject to a royalty. All rights including but not limited to, professional, amateur, recording, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio and television broadcasting, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are expressly reserved. Particular emphasis is placed on the question of readings and all uses of this play by educational institutions, permission for which must be secured from the author’s representative: John Buzzetti, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019; (212) 903-1166
The publication of Ripcord by David Lindsay-Abaire, through TCG’s Book Program, is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
TCG books are exclusively distributed to the book trade by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution.
Library of Congress Control Numbers:
2016036069 (print) / 2016044594 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-55936-845-2 (ebook)
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Book design and composition by Lisa Govan
Cover design by Rodrigo Corral Studio / June Park
First Edition, January 2017
CONTENTS
Production History
Characters/Place
Act One
Scene Two
Scene Three
Scene Four
Scene Five
Act Two
Scene One
Scene Two
Scene Three
Scene Four
Ripcord was commissioned by Manhattan Theatre Club through the Bank of America New Play Commissioning Program. It received its world premiere at Manhattan Theatre Club (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer) on October 20, 2015. It was directed by David Hyde Pierce; the set design was by Alexander Dodge, the costume design was by Jennifer Von Mayrhauser, the lighting design was by Peter Kaczorowski, the original music and sound design were by John Gromada, the fight direction was by Thomas Schall; the production stage manager was Denise Yaney. The cast was as follows:
| ABBY BINDER | Holland Taylor |
| MARILYN DUNNE | Marylouise Burke |
| SCOTTY | Nate Miller |
| BENJAMIN, LEWIS, CLOWN | Glenn Fitzgerald |
| COLLEEN, WOMAN IN WHITE | Rachel Dratch |
| DEREK, ZOMBIE BUTLER, MASKED MAN | Daoud Heidami |
| ABBY BINDER | a resident, seventies–eighties |
| MARILYN DUNNE | a resident, seventies–eighties |
| SCOTTY | a resident aide, twenties–thirties |
| BENJAMIN, LEWIS and CLOWN | played by the same actor, forties |
| COLLEEN and WOMAN IN WHITE | played by same actress, thirties–forties |
| DEREK, ZOMBIE BUTLER and MASKED MAN | played by the same actor, thirties–forties |
PLACE
The play is mostly set in a double room at the Bristol Place Senior Living Facility in suburban New Jersey. Though there are a few other locations.
NOTE
A slash ( / ) in the dialogue indicates the start of the next spoken line.
A double room in the Bristol Place Senior Living Facility. It’s fairly homey, as far as these places go. There are two beds, a couple of end tables, two sitting chairs, and two identical dressers. There’s a door to the room stage right that leads out into the hall. A wide set of windows line the stage left wall. It’s a very sunny day. A door upstage right leads to the bathroom.
As the lights rise, we discover Abby Binder in the chair closest to the windows, reading on an iPad. Her side of the room, stage left, has a few plants and a watering can on the windowsill, and some knickknacks. Her bed is made, while the stage right bed is not. The stage right dresser has several framed family photos atop it, while Abby’s dresser has a small stack of books.
There’s a tap at the door. Scotty, a resident aide, enters, carrying a tray with a couple of covered plates on it.
SCOTTY
Hey, Abby. You didn’t want to come down to the dining room?
ABBY
(Doesn’t look up from her iPad) Am I there?
SCOTTY
That’s all right, I brought some lunch up for you. (Places the tray near her)
ABBY
Why bother? I can’t taste anything.
SCOTTY
I know, I’m sorry.
ABBY
Going on two months now. Which may be a blessing given what they serve down there.
SCOTTY
It’s very common. Losing your sense of taste.
ABBY
No, it isn’t.
SCOTTY
I’ve seen it with a lot of our residents. It’s usually the medications. Certain combinations do funny things.
ABBY
Oh, are you a doctor now?
SCOTTY
No. The plate’s right there when you get hungry. It’s shrimp marinara.
ABBY
It doesn’t matter what it is. It all tastes like sand to me.
SCOTTY
Okay.