Altarena Playhouse is pleased to announce the first show of its 2020 Season:
Ripcord
by David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by Christian Haines
January 24 – February 23
Altarena Playhouse presents David Lindsay-Abaire’s delightful and hilarious comedy Ripcord.
Ripcord is a deeply satisfying and vastly entertaining story of two elderly women thrown together by a cosmic force possessed of a wicked sense of humor. The play was commissioned by Manhattan Theatre Club and makes its debut at Altarena Playhouse.
Set in the Bristol Place Assisted Living Facility, this hilarious comedy centers around Abby (Michele Delattre), who takes pride in her residence in one of the most coveted rooms in the facility. Things turn comical fast, and also sour quickly when Abby has no choice but to take in a new and polar opposite roommate, Marilyn (Ellen Brooks), as the two share her very-precious living space. In an amusing conflict of territory and control, the story spins a mundane and typically normal setting into a colorfully absurdist, hilarious battleground. This high-stakes comedy examines our expectations of what it means to grow old in modern America, and what happens when a sense of possession collides with a mania of obsession.
Christian Haines, who holds an MFA from the National Theatre Conservatory, makes his directorial debut at Altarena with Ripcord. He has directed productions with Awesome Theater, The Pear Theatre, Ross Valley Players, The Tides Theatre, Playwrights Foundation, Z Space, Arabian Shakes, Best of Fringe NYC and many more.
Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire’s plays include Good People, Fuddy Meers, Kimberly Akimbo, Wonder of the World, High Fidelity, A Devil Inside, and Rabbit Hole, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Lindsay-Abaire wrote the book for Shrek the Musical, and the screen adaptation of Rabbit Hole starring Nicole Kidman. Lindsay-Abaire is a proud New Dramatists alum, a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the Juilliard School, as well as a member of the WGA and the Dramatists Guild Council.
The production features a talented cast: Michele Delattre, Ellen Brooks, Jesse Lumb, Gretta Stimson, Russell Nauman and Randy Russell.
Production sponsors:
- Gary & Katherine Hoffer
- Beverly Blatt & David Filipek
- Weezie Mott Cooking School
- Nadine Barbera
- The Falkner Family
For press tickets, interviews with the director and/or cast members, and more information please contact .
Press Photos by Jim Norrena, ACT OUT Photography
Click on image to download a high resolution version.
