"Ripcord" - by David Lindsay-Abaire - Calliope Productions (Boylston, MA.) - REVIEW
(Cover Photo: Aurora Grabill as “Colleen” with Laura Steele as “Abby” in a scene from David Lindsay-Abaire's "RIPCORD" from Calliope Productions in Boylston, MA. now playing through March 15, 2026. Photo Courtesy of Calliope Productions)
By Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMAG Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
“If I have to have someone in here, why can’t it be someone quiet? What about that woman without the voicebox? She seems nice."
- ("Abby") / David Lindsay-Abaire
Calliope Productions
Presents David Lindsay-Abaire's
"RIPCORD"
Written by David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by Dave Ludt
Cast Includes: Laura Steele as “Abby,” Brenda Jenkins Macedo as “Marilyn,” Hunter Campbell as “Scotty,” Brendan McGee as “Benjamin/Lewis/Clown,” Aurora Grabill as “Colleen/Woman in White,” Rob Killeen as “Derek/Zombie Butler/Masked Man.”
Additional Creative Team:
Costumes - Donna Reidy; Set Design - Dave Ludt; Set Construction - Dave Ludt, Bob Reidy; Video Production - Matthew Cory and sketchworcester.com; Lighting, Projection and Sound - Matthew Valeri; Props - Kim LiPuma; Stage Crew - Joy Moynihan, Marina Matuzek, Kim LiPuma.
Performances:
March 5, 2026 through March 15, 2026
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
CALLIOPE THEATRE, 150 Main Street, Boylston, MA. 01505
TICKETS:
For tickets and more information contact the Box Office at 508-869-6887 or visit https://www.ticketstage.com/T/CALLIOPE
BUY TICKETS
COVID 19 PROTOCOLS
Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.
(Warning: The following review contains spoilers)
Calliope Productions tugs at your heartstrings while pulling your leg with the rip-roaringly funny "RIPCORD" from Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire.
"RIPCORD" is a clever, upbeat comedy that blends wit with tender moments and even moments of great poignancy, rendered well by its cast under the direction of Dave Ludt.
"RIPCORD" concerns two elderly women, the cantankerous Abby Binder (Laura Steele) and the bubbly Marilyn Dunne (Brenda Jenkins Macedo), who are forced to share a room in an assisted living facility in New Jersey.
(Ugh - New Jersey – haven’t these women been through enough?)
Abby has a cynical, stubborn personality and wants Marilyn gone as she wants the room to herself. Marilyn, with her ceaselessly sunny disposition, drives Abby to distraction.
The two new roomies engage in an intense, escalating power struggle, eventually reaching new heights as they make a wager.
The bet?
If Marilyn can get Abby to laugh, she wins Abby's corner of the room with a better view of the outside.
If Marilyn fails to make Abby laugh, Abby then gets to throw Marilyn out.
Soon, by the end of the first act, we watch as things go from odd to ridiculous as the two women soon find themselves jumping out of an airplane...yes, in the sky.
As they fall to earth, perhaps they should remember that old saying along the way down: “If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.”
Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire (a Boston native) is known for “Shrek the Musical” and won both the 2023 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical and Tony Award for Best Original Score for his musical adaptation of his play “Kimberly Akimbo.”
(Photo: Laura Steele as “Abby” in a scene from David Lindsay-Abaire's "RIPCORD" from Calliope Productions in Boylston, MA. now playing through March 15, 2026. Photo Credit: Tracy Martino)
Lindsay-Abaire's play "RIPCORD" made its debut Off-Broadway in 2015, with the original production directed by David Hyde Pierce and starring Holland Taylor as “Abby” and Marylouise Burke as “Marilyn” to critical acclaim.
Now, Steele and Macedo carry on that esteemed legacy admirably in their performances for Calliope Productions.
Both actresses are fully invested in their characters and, while they may play adversaries, the bonded chemistry they display onstage comes across as completely genuine.
Each of the two acts in "RIPCORD" has multiple scenes and the Calliope staging moves along quite well albeit with a few lumbering set changes, but otherwise there is very little downtime in between scenes.
The Lindsay-Abaire text has solid pacing and biting humor, mostly coming from the two leads who have this nice "Odd Couple/Laverne & Shirley" dynamic stemming from the cantankerous and more withdrawn Abby and the opposingly more upbeat and sociable Marilyn.
An unexpected "high point" of the Calliope show comes late into the first act with an extended filmed airplane sequence constructed by the Calliope creative team (working with Matthew Cory and sketchworcester.com) that is both well done and truly fun to watch.
Among the other impressive performances within the Calliope "RIPCORD" cast is Hunter Campbell as “Scotty,” a young, compassionate aide at the senior living facility who also has to occasionally double as both referee and mediator between Abby and Marilyn.
Campbell provides an amusing and occasionally animated take on the well-intentioned Scotty, continually flustered by the antics of the dueling roomies.
(Photo: Brenda Jenkins Macedo as “Marilyn,” Brendan McGee as “Benjamin” and Laura Steele as “Abby” in a scene from David Lindsay-Abaire's "RIPCORD" from Calliope Productions in Boylston, MA. now playing through March 15, 2026. Photo Credit: Tracy Martino)
In "RIPCORD" we also meet the roommates’ respective children in Benjamin (as admirably played by Brendan McGee who also portrays a clown and the character “Lewis”) Abby's estranged son who suddenly returns into Abby’s life; and Marilyn's daughter Colleen (extremely well conveyed by Aurora Grabil who also plays a “Woman in White”).
Late into Act Two, the story takes an abrupt, more subdued turn in tone during a scene between Benjamin and Abby, but the two actors make it so effective and genuinely real it serves to elevate the material beyond its otherwise basic “sitcom” premise.
Rounding out the Calliope cast is the hilarious Rob Killeen who plays Derek, Colleen’s husband, then later appears as a "zombie butler" (because why NOT a zombie butler?) and a "bunny-masked bandit" (again, sure - why not?), both characters part of elaborate stunts Marilyn has plotted in order to provoke a reaction from Abby.
(Photo: Hunter Campbell as “Scotty” in a scene from David Lindsay-Abaire's "RIPCORD" from Calliope Productions in Boylston, MA. now playing through March 15, 2026. Photo Credit: Tracy Martino)
During the haunted house sequence, there is an extended moment when Abby is holding a “baby” and visually, and without saying a word, actress Laura Steele gives us a slight glimpse into some deep personal regrets Abby has with some of her life choices.
A very subtle moment but also nuanced, providing a lot of added subtext for the character.
Ultimately, from the exchanges between Abby and Marilyn, we see how "RIPCORD" delves into multiple topics of aging - from reduced independence to unexpected companionship, or from unfulfilled dreams to concerns over what we will leave behind as we edge ever closer to the end.
(Photo: Aurora Grabill as “Colleen” with Laura Steele as “Abby” in a scene from David Lindsay-Abaire's "RIPCORD" from Calliope Productions in Boylston, MA. now playing through March 15, 2026. Photo Credit: Tracy Martino)
With its sky high vibes, "RIPCORD" continues at Calliope Productions until March 15th, 2026.
Coming up next at Calliope will be the musical sensation "THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE" with music and lyrics by William Finn and book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman, beginning May 14th and running until May 24th, 2026.
For tickets and more information contact the Box Office at 508-869-6887 or visit https://www.ticketstage.com/T/CALLIOPE
BUY TICKETS
Approximately two hours with one intermission.
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT THE SHOW
"RIPCORD" is a poignant comedy about relationships, aging, and resilience.
Abby, a sharp-tongued and cantankerous resident of the Bristol Place Senior Living Facility, is horrified when cheerful newcomer Marilyn moves in as her roommate.
Determined to get rid of this infuriatingly chipper woman and reclaim the room for herself, Abby makes a bet with Marilyn that leads to a hilarious battle of wits and pranks.
However, what begins as a lighthearted competition escalates into a dangerous game of one-upmanship that reveals deeper truths, forcing each woman to confront and overcome her own vulnerabilities!
ABOUT CALLIOPE PRODUCTIONS
CALLIOPE PRODUCTIONS is a year-round non-profit theatre company founded in 1982 that serves the needs and interests of audiences and performers in the Central Massachusetts region. CALLIOPE PRODUCTIONS presents six main-stage productions each year, and operates performance training workshops for students (ages 9 - 18) and adults. CALLIOPE PRODUCTIONS is a member of the American Association of Community Theatre, the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theatres and the Worcester Cultural Coalition.
150 Main Street
Boylston, MA. 01505
# 508-869-6887
