Photo courtesy Holmdel Theatre Co.
By Mary Ann Bourbeau
HOLMDEL – What does a Christian widow living in a conservative Texas town do when her teenage daughter announces she is gender queer and is starting a chapter of the Gay Straight Alliance in her high school?
This crisis of gender issues is one that Trisha Lee never saw coming. Tony Award winner Alice Ripley brings Trisha to life in a one-woman play called “The Pink Unicorn,” which will be presented as part of Broadway at the Barn at the Holmdel Theatre Jan. 30 and 31.
“There’s no doubt this really rocks Trisha’s world,” said Ripley. “It blindsides her. I don’t have any kids, but I’m honored to be chosen as the voice for this character. What Trisha is going through, a lot of people are facing.”
The story begins as a monologue and turns into an immersive play in which Trisha makes a lot of wrong choices, but also a lot of right choices, said Ripley.
“It’s OK to make mistakes along the way,” she said. “Nobody’s perfect. But if Trisha has to choose between the church and her daughter, it’s no contest.”
Ripley said the humor inflected in Elise Forier Edie’s script helps Trisha get through this situation and come to a place of understanding and acceptance.
“It really hits people in the heart,” she said. “It’s hard for a kid to say something like that to their parent. This helps people understand that it’s important to keep talking about it, and maybe it will help give them an idea of the kind of language to use. We see this as an introduction to the conversation. If you’re coming from a place of love, that’s a good place to start.”
“The Pink Unicorn” was originally produced in 2013 by DogTown Theatre in Washington, D.C. and has since been performed throughout the U.S. and Canada, including a run at United Solo Theatre Festival in New York, where Elise Forier Edie won Best Storyteller. The show was produced Off-Broadway in 2018 by Out of the Box Theatrics and starred Ripley.
“I took one look at the script and it didn’t take me long to say yes,” she said. Liz Flemming, producing consultant and artistic director for Out of the Box Theatrics, is excited to revisit “The Pink Unicorn” with Ripley at the Holmdel Theatre Company’s Duncan Smith Theater.
“I can’t wait to tell this important and timely story with the brilliant Alice Ripley and this incredible team again,” she said.
Ripley won critical acclaim for her performance as Diana Goodman in the Pulitzer Prize-winning show, “Next to Normal,” for which she took home the 2009 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She also appeared on Broadway in “Side Show” (Tony nomination), “American Psycho,” “The Rocky Horror Show,” “Sunset Boulevard,” “The Who’s Tommy” and “Les Miserables.”
In June 2019, she kicked off Holmdel Theatre’s “Broadway at the Barn” series with her solo show, “Ripley Prescription,” which was recently named Best Cabaret Performance in the 2019 BroadwayWorld New Jersey Awards.
“We are thrilled to have Alice Ripley back in the Barn,” said Colleen Cook, Holmdel Theatre Company’s executive director.
Cook is also a producer for “The Pink Unicorn.” Amy E. Jones is director and Tina Scariano is stage manager. Ripley is looking forward to spreading a message of love, hope and understanding with the Holmdel audience.
“A lot of people are dealing with this issue and it’s important to feel like you can talk about it,” she said. “It’s a happy ending, but it’s not easy getting there. Hopefully, seeing Trisha going through what she goes through will give the audience courage.”
Tickets for “The Pink Unicorn” are $50 and can be purchased at holmdeltheatrecompany.org or by calling the box office at 732-946-0427.
Arts and entertainment reporter Mary Ann Bourbeau can be reached at mbourbeau@tworivertimes.com.
This article originally appeared in the Jan. 23, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
