Review: Holland Taylor and Marylouise Burke are Battling Roommates in David Lindsay-Abaire's Charmer, RIPCORD

If you can set aside an unfortunate moment where drugging and kidnaping someone is played for humor, David Lindsay-Abaire's new comedy, Ripcord, is the kind of silly frothy fun that delivers a steady stream of laughs and offers a chance for two seasoned actresses to impressively strut their stuff.

Although there are two beds in her room, Abby (terrifically stoic Holland Taylor) manages to keep a private in her very nice assisted living facility because nobody wants to put up with her demeaning sarcasm every day.

But her dry nastiness doesn't seem to faze her new roomie, the impishly jovial Marilyn (Marylouise Burke, darling as ever) who sincerely wants to be friends almost as much as she wants the bed near the window.

Marilyn charms everyone else, especially Scotty (Nate Miller), an actor with a day job at the facility handing out pills and serving meals. When Scotty mentions that he's performing in a haunted house show, Marilyn manages to drag the reluctant Abby along. They're chased by a zombie and witness Scotty's electrocution, but Abby is unimpressed, claiming that nothing scares her.

When Marilyn counters with a declaration that nothing angers her, Abby gets an idea. If Marilyn can scare Abby she can get the bed near the window, but if Abby can get Marilyn angry first, she has to move to a room that's recently had a vacancy.

To say much more about the plots each hatches to try and win the bet would be giving away some fun surprises, but let's just say the play is called Ripcord for a reason.

Marilyn has a bit of an unfair advantage because she's helped by her daughter and son-in-law (Rachel Dratch and Daoud Heidami), and through them we discover a little more about her past that adds pathos to the proceedings.

Director David Hyde Pierce keeps the play grounded in sincerity, even during some especially wacky moments, which makes the poignancy of the ending all the more effective.

RIPCORD won't win Lindsay-Abaire another Pulitzer, but it's a real charmer that will make a lot of people smile.

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