Two Senior Citizens And A Room With A View — What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

When you think about it, there are only a few rare times in life when people are expected to socialize with peers, not because they like their company or even share common interests, but solely because they happen to be the same age.

The first instance that comes to mind occurs during the teenage years, when high school students are forced to sit in communal spaces like classrooms and cafeterias alongside people they may have nothing in common with, but who happen to be in the same grade. Another time this occurs is in the golden years, when senior citizens move to retirement communities where they must, once again, navigate the social pitfalls of what can best be described as the late-in-life lunchroom.

And in both these places, you can bet you will always find a mean girl or two.

It’s the second situation that is the premise for “Ripcord,” the comedy by David Lindsay-Abaire, which will be presented by the Hampton Theatre Company in Quogue from March 17 to April 3. Set in the Bristol Place Senior Living Facility in a much desired room with a view, the cantankerous Abby Binder, who got there first, is not happy to learn that she will soon be sharing her room with Marilyn Dunne, a new arrival with an infuriatingly upbeat personality.

In order to determine who will “rule the roost,” a seemingly innocuous wager is made between the two women to determine who gets to stay in the room. But soon, what starts as a game gets out of hand, revealing truths and scars that both women would rather keep hidden. Just like Oscar and Felix sharing a small Manhattan apartment, strange bedfellows often make for great comedy — and that, notes Andrew Botsford, who will direct the production, is exactly the point.

“It’s a classic sitcom premise like the ‘Odd Couple,’” Botsford explained, noting that the bet between the two senior citizens revolves around an erosion of the women’s perceived strengths. While Abby claims she cannot be scared, Marilyn says she never gets angry.

“If Marilyn can scare Abby, she gets to stay in the room and gets the bed by the window. If Abby can make Marilyn angry, Marilyn will have to leave the room,” Botsford said. “They start playing tricks — one to scare the other and one to make the other angry — and it escalates fast and gets out of control.

“Then we find out the backstory as to why these women are the way they are.”

For people living out the end of their days, the burden of experiencing a long life and its inevitable losses, of course, is often much more complex than at first glance. So perhaps it’s not surprising that the simple bet between the two women soon unveils a deep well filled with emotional baggage.

“You have that stuff — and it’s underneath the comedy,” Botsford explained. “This is why I like this play and wanted to direct it. I think the plays I direct have a lot of humor, but there’s also some deeper stuff. It’s not so much straight-up comedy, but comedy with depth, and something underneath it to make the point stronger.

“It informs the comedy and gives it more texture than farce. It’s about the humanity and the human condition and experience,” he added. “It gets a little more telling because of the comedy — and the comedy gets to the truth.

“Ripcord,” which was presented at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2015, was brought to HTC’s attention by fellow board member Rosemary Cline, and Botsford found that it hit a lot of the marks that the company was looking for in a script.

“When we choose the plays, we try to balance out our season. We also look at the local talent pool to see if we can cast a lot of the principle roles,” he said. “We thought we could, and chose it two years ago, before the pandemic, and haven’t been able to do it until now.”

Casting since the era of COVID-19 has made things a bit more complicated for many theater companies — not only in terms of union rules, but also availability of actors given that many may have left the industry or the area since the pandemic began.

Fortunately, Botsford notes that he has assembled a capable group of thespians for this production. But only one of them has performed on the HTC stage previously — Vincent Cinque, who appeared in the company’s production of “Six Degrees of Separation.” A graduate of Westhampton Beach High School, Cinque was the recipient of HTC’s first Peter Marbury Scholarship, which is awarded annually to East End students who plan to further their theater education after high school. He went on to earn a BFA in drama and producing from NYU and will appear in multiple roles in “Ripcord,” including as Benjamin, Abby’s estranged son.

The other five performers in this show are all newcomers to the HTC stage, including Laurie Atlas, who plays Abby, and who Botsford notes was found through a production with the Bellport Playcrafters. The others are: Claire Parrella-Curran as Marilyn; Matthew Schiavoni as the attendant, Scotty; Lindsey Sanchez as Marilyn’s daughter, Colleen; and Giovanni Sandoval as Colleen’s husband, Derek.

Botsford admits that networking played a big role in finding the actors for this cast. Sonya Hubbard, who works in the HTC box office and whose son, Ian, starred in HTC’s 2019 production of “Admissions,” suggested his friend Matthew Schiavoni of Sag Harbor.

“Ian had been in Stages with him and Matthew studied theater at Fredonia,” Botsford explained. “Sonya reached out, and now he’s in the play.

“Matthew is auditioning in New York, Vinnie is involved in the New York theater scene, so they’re coming back around again.”

Typically, the East End has had a good selection of older actors available because they tend to be residents of the area and often don’t have conflicting job commitments. It has often been the younger roles that can be difficult to cast, but Botsford is pleased to report that there seems to be a new pool of applicants to tap into.

“This networking through the theater company worked out,” he said. “High school kids who were interested in theater are now back. It’s great to see people coming out.”

Though COVID-19 restrictions are being loosened throughout the region, for the protection of its audiences, which skew a bit older, HTC is keeping its vaccination and masking requirements in place for the production.

“People are more relaxed now and the numbers are going down. But most people buying tickets are saying, ‘I’m glad you’re keeping vaccines and masks,’” Botsford said. “This is a great play, so come down and see it.”

David Lindsay-Abaire’s “Ripcord,” directed by Andrew Botsford, will be performed by the Hampton Theatre Company at the Quogue Community Hall, 125 Jessup Avenue, from Thursday, March 17, through Sunday, April 3, with shows on Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. An additional matinee will be performed on Saturday, April 2, and a bonus “talkback” with the cast will be offered immediately following the Friday, March 25, show. Set design is by Andrew Botsford and Ricky Bottenus, lighting design by Sebastian Paczynski, sound by Seamus Naughton and costumes by Teresa Lebrun.

Tickets are $36 ($31 for seniors/$20 for students). To purchase, visit hamptontheatre.org or call 631-653-8955. All ticket holders will be required to show a photo ID and proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of the performance. Face-coverings will be required at all times inside the theater. For more information, visit hamptontheatre.org.