Review: THE PINK UNICORN at Richmond Triangle Players

The set is black with just a few shapes painted on the flats. So it's up to Marie Lucas to make most of "The Pink Unicorn" happen, and she does it masterfully.

She's the only performer in Elise Forier Edie's play, which ran Off-off-Broadway in 2019. She plays Trisha Lee, a widowed Texas mother to 14-year-old Jolene. And part of Jolene's transition to high school includes a request to be called Jo and a plan to wear a boy's blazer for their yearbook photo.

In the small Texas town where they live, this is a big problem, causing a rift with Trisha Lee's mother and all kinds of trouble at school. The ACLU gets involved--quite a step for this widow, who is still grieving her husband's sudden death.

But Trisha Lee, a hospital cleaner, has a will of steel and a fierce love for Jo. She will stop at nothing to support her child.

Lucas gives great heart and energy to her role, and under Raja Benz's sensitive direction she even creates the set--with chalk drawings on the black walls of the set designed by Dasia Gregg and Michael Riley. Clara Bronchick's simple costume design is appropriate, but Austin Harber's colorful lighting is often distracting.

It's a feel-good show with an underdog who overcomes--fine fare for those just making their way back into the audience.

"The Pink Unicorn" at Richmond Triangle Players, 1300 Altamont Ave., Richmond

Through August 15

Tickets $30-$35

Info: rtriangle.org or (804) 346-8113