The story of a Christian mother coming to terms with her genderqueer child’s coming out is headed to the screen. A press release has announced that a film adaptation of Elise Forier Edie’s play “The Pink Unicorn” is in the works. Director Amy E. Jones and star Alice Ripley will reunite for the project.
First produced in 2013 by DogTown Theatre in D.C., “The Pink Unicorn” is a solo show following Trisha Lee, a 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,” the source summarizes. “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.”
Inspired by the real-life struggles of trans youth in the U.S., “The Pink Unicorn” “aims to bring families closer together — especially those who are unsure of how to speak with their children about gender identity, the LGBTQIA+ community, and basic human rights.”
Production on the film will kick off May 10. Holmdel Theatre Company’s Colleen Cook and Out of the Box Theatrics’ Liz Flemming are among the producers.
Ripley previously toplined productions of “The Pink Unicorn” staged by Out of the Box Theatrics and Holmdel Theatre Company, and Jones served as director.
Ripley won a Tony for her starring role in Broadway’s “Next to Normal.” Her other credits include “Side Show” and “The Vagina Monologues.” Jones has directed and choreographed productions of “The Color Purple” and “Mamma Mia!,” among other titles.
Edie’s most recent play, the children’s show “John Henry,” premiered at The Growing Stage in Netcong, New Jersey in 2019. Her other plays include “La Llorona and Other Tales of the American Southwest” and “Cathy’s Creek.”