The cute little old ladies are up to something at the sunny nursing home. They share the same room and enough wit to fight over the turf like two college roommates. If only we all could grow old with such spunk and physicality! The woman-child trope of David Lindsay-Abaire’s Ripcord at Keegan Theatre is the familiar key in a sound production filled with honest actors, stunning visuals, and imaginative design. Once you get into the humor of it, and just go along with the premise, you have a sporting good time.
The three actors who take on numerous roles, Kari Ginsburg, Oscar Ceville, and Robert Bowen Smith, insert bold physicality and well-timed response as the story changes location or situation, whether repentant son, zombie, clown, or masked man.
Of the central characters, Abby, played by Deb Gottesman, is the grumpier of the two. … She is a woman who wants the room to herself, can’t taste a thing, won’t scare easily, and doesn’t lose a bet. She embodies an overdose of Nyquil and tumbles soundlessly off the bed, slips out of the chair, or turns her head, and with that second glance, puts the conversation in its place. … Claire Schoonover [as Abby’s roommate Marilyn] is fun to watch. She brings us a Marilyn who truly delights in the most surprising extreme schemes that have a harsh novelty.
Director Megan Thrift has delivered an engaging production in a great space with winning actors. … There is no need to give anything away, these actors and Ripcord take you along for a good ride, and you don’t need a walker or a parachute.
