Lindsay-Abaire - Ripcord

OTHER BOOKS BY DAVID LINDSAY-ABAIRE PUBLISHED BY TCG Good PeopleRabbit HoleRipcord 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 authors 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 TCGs 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 Table of Contents

CONTENTS 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, seventieseighties
MARILYN DUNNE	a resident, seventieseighties
SCOTTY	a resident aide, twentiesthirties
BENJAMIN, LEWIS and CLOWN	played by the same actor, forties
COLLEEN and WOMAN IN WHITE	played by same actress, thirtiesforties
DEREK, ZOMBIE BUTLER and MASKED MAN	played by the same actor, thirtiesforties

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. Its fairly homey, as far as these places go. There are two beds, a couple of end tables, two sitting chairs, and two identical dressers. Theres a door to the room stage right that leads out into the hall. A wide set of windows line the stage left wall.

Its 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 Abbys dresser has a small stack of books.Theres 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 didnt want to come down to the dining room? ABBY (Doesnt look up from her iPad) Am I there? SCOTTY Thats all right, I brought some lunch up for you. (Places the tray near her) ABBY Why bother? I cant taste anything. SCOTTY I know, Im sorry. ABBY Going on two months now. Which may be a blessing given what they serve down there. SCOTTY Its very common.

Losing your sense of taste. ABBY No, it isnt. SCOTTY Ive seen it with a lot of our residents. Its usually the medications. Certain combinations do funny things. ABBY Oh, are you a doctor now? SCOTTY No.

The plates right there when you get hungry. Its shrimp marinara. ABBY It doesnt matter what it is. It all tastes like sand to me. SCOTTY Okay. (He makes the unmade bed over the following:) ABBY How long is that woman here? SCOTTY What do you mean? ABBY Its been three weeks.

And she never stops talking. How long is this supposed to go on? SCOTTY This is where she lives, Abby. ABBY Well yes, for now, but I / meant SCOTTY Not just for now. Indefinitely. This is Marilyns room. Same as you.

ABBY But I thought she was being moved as soon as a bed opened up. And from what I hear, that fat woman on the first floor died last night. SCOTTY Mrs. Moore. Her name was Mrs. Moore.

ABBY Well I cant keep track of everyones name. You knew who I meant. Shes dead isnt she? SCOTTY She passed away, yes. ABBY Then theres an open bed. SCOTTY I think Marilyn prefers this room. She said she likes the view of the park.

Shes very happy in here. ABBY But everyone wants the first floor. Its closer to everything. And Ive always had my own room, Scotty. SCOTTY Thats not true. ABBY Most of the time.

That Spanish lady was here for a few months, but after / her SCOTTY If theres space, we try to accommodate you, but theres not always space. And you dont have a private room. ABBY Not officially maybe. SCOTTY If you and your family want to pay for a private room ABBY If I have to have someone in here, why cant it be someone quiet? What about that woman without the voice box? She seems nice. SCOTTY So is Marilyn. You just need to give her a / chance.

ABBY That woman is troubled, Scotty. I think theres something wrong with her. Shes always trying to make little bets with me. SCOTTY What do you mean, bets? What kind of bets? ABBY Just the stupidest things. Guessing games and quizzes. This morning she wanted to race me to the elevator.

Last night she bet me she could balance a slipper on her head. SCOTTY Could she? ABBY I dont know, I rolled over. You have to get her out of here. SCOTTY I cant