THE PINK UNICORN
Written and performed by ELISE FORIER EDIE

Wig Construction & Make Up: M. CATHERINE McMILLEN
Technical Direction: JERALD DOUGHERTY, TINA BARRIGAN

Stage Left Studio
214 West 30th Street (between 7th & 8th Avenues)
www.stageleftstudio.net
April 22 & April 25 at 7:30 PM

Elise Forier Edie’s THE PINK UNICORN is part of the Left Out Festival 2014 which features the works of LGBTQ artists and benefits Bailey House in their mission to provide support and housing to those living with AIDS and HIV. Trisha Lee is a good Christian widow living in Spartan, Texas. In addition to having the required three-letter middle name, she also sports big blonde hair and lives a pretty normal life until her teenage daughter Jolene-now-Jo announces that she is “gender queer.” Not only is she pan-sexual (if you’re wondering what that means, Trisha Lee would tell you to “Look it up!”), she is planning to create a Gay and Straight Alliance chapter at her local high school. Good golly Miss Molly! The town is in an uproar, and Trisha Lee is trying to make sense of it all while defending Jo’s right to be whomever she wants to be.

Edie’s portrayal is superb, alternating between a soft-spoken Southern belle and a tough-talking avenging mother hen. With just the right blend of humor and sensitivity, she takes you along on her roller-coaster journey, using video shots of some of the characters to make the trip even more fascinating. As she moves from total unawareness to advocacy, she realizes that she doesn’t have to understand. Therein lies the beauty of this production – the humanity and the universal need to define and live in integrity speaks to us all. And when you’re having trouble navigating the choppy waters, reach out for THE PINK UNICORN. Sometimes we all need a magical being to guide us through unfamiliar territory.

- Laurie Lawson -