Out of the Box Theatrics Presents THE PINK UNICORN Preview – Conversation with Alice Ripley

Out of the Box Theatrics Presents THE PINK UNICORN Preview – Conversation with Alice Ripley, August 13 – August 25, 2019, 33 Street New York

When:
August 13 – August 25, 2019

Where:
The Cell
33Street
New York, New York

Out of the Box Theatrics, in collaboration with has interested Tony-Award winning actress Alice Ripley to play the role of Trisha Lee in their upcoming of Elise Forier Edie’s The Pink Unicorn in collaboration with  Nancy Manocherian’s the cell.  How and Why? The timeliness of this play might go a long way to explain why this story needs to be told and why Alice Ripley was drawn to help tell this story.  The show’s promoters summarize “Trisha Lee is a Christian widow living in a conservative Texas town. Her life is suddenly upended when her 14-year-old daughter Jolene announces she is genderqueer and starting a chapter of the Gay and Straight Alliance at the local high school. In The Pink Unicorn, Trisha recounts her story about facing a crisis she never saw coming, at a time when transgender people and gender issues weren't even on her radar.

Out of the Box Theatrics PINK UNICORN
Alice Ripley

Alice Ripley won the 2009 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Diana Goodman in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal. Alice also received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for her work in Next to Normal Off-Broadway (Second Stage) and a Helen Hayes Award for the production at Arena Stage. Ms. Ripley also received Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for her work as conjoined twin Violet Hilton in Side Show.

Here, Picture This Post (PTP) asks Alice Ripley (AR) to explain more about this role and this story.

(PTP) Could you give our readers a brief description of The Pink Unicorn?
(AR) It's a single monologue where as Trisha Lee I tell a story about how my gender neutral 14 year old daughter came out to me as pansexual, and how it rocked my world.

What drew you to this script?

I enjoy a challenge involving endurance. The Pink Unicorn script is an hour and a half of uninterrupted solo storytelling, presented directly to the audience. In addition, the subject matter needs to be heard, listened to and discussed.

How did you become involved with this production?

Our producer, Liz Flemming (Out of the Box Theatrics), approached me. When I read Elise's script, I was immediately tempted by the challenge of taking Trisha Lee off the page. The idea of bringng this character and her complicated situation to life was what I knew would hook me, and it has.

 

How has your understanding of the script or the underlying issues it addresses evolved as you have rehearsed? 

Elise recently made some changes to update the script. We haven't started rehearsal yet, so I don't know yet how that affects everything.

 

This is a clearly a timely and hot topic of our times—how does animating it through this character allow you to bring out other aspects of LGBTQA issues not usually understood?

I think that's for the LGBTQA+ audience to answer. I believe The Pink Unicorn is not the final word on anything, it's just the beginning of a conversation.

How did you become involved with this production?

Our producer, Liz Flemming (Out of the Box Theatrics), approached me. When I read Elise's script, I was immediately tempted by the challenge of taking Trisha Lee off the page. The idea of bringng this character and her complicated situation to life was what I knew would hook me, and it has.

How has your understanding of the script or the underlying issues it addresses evolved as you have rehearsed? 

Elise recently made some changes to update the script. We haven't started rehearsal yet, so I don't know yet how that affects everything.

This is a clearly a timely and hot topic of our times—how does animating it through this character allow you to bring out other aspects of LGBTQA issues not usually understood?

I think that's for the LGBTQA+ audience to answer. I believe The Pink Unicorn is not the final word on anything, it's just the beginning of a conversation.

Tickets:

$35.50+

For tickets and more information visit the Out of the Box Theatrics website.

Photos by Jazelle Artistry

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