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Dear Friend,

 

If you are receiving this email, you have at one point “walked with me” – maybe on a football, soccer or lacrosse field, maybe on a Board, maybe at the theater, maybe at school – I consider you my friend with a similar moral compass.

 

I ask you to take the 2 minutes to read this for me. And then donate $50 to “walk with me”.

 

In January 2020, I am for the first time in my life being a producer of a play. Something that I actually never thought I would have the opportunity to do. And instead of starting small when you don’t have much of a clue of what you are doing – why not start with a risky new play starring a Tony winner.

 

The play is The Pink Unicorn – the Tony Winner is Alice Ripley.

 

Why this play?   

 

I went to see The Pink Unicorn last year with zero expectations. The subject matter didn’t pertain much to me I thought – the story of a Texas Christian Mother coming to terms with her daughter’s coming out as genderqueer. Yeah, I know for most of you – not my cup of tea.

 

But you see this is the bucket description of the play - it does not get at the core of what it is all about.    

 

That night in the theater I sat next to a large boy in a brown flowery dress with a rainbow feathered hat on his head. And as I watched the show, I thought of this kid and how many times I am sure life wasn’t easy for him. But not tonight, not in this theater, not with this Tony winner performing for him and “walking” with him. And it brought tears flowing down my face then as it still does now as I write this to you.

 

To me, the Pink Unicorn is the story of a mom (or could be a dad) who wants to protect their kid from the cruelness in the world, who simply wants nothing more in the world than for their child to be happy. Trust me, we all can relate to this story – to the moment when our kid seemed alone, left out, was on the outside. When we worried that we couldn’t protect them from hurt, a disappointment. When we worried about what others would think, how they would judge us. And in the end, it is about the love of a parent for their child overpowering everything else.

 

It is all of our stories.

 

The Pink Unicorn is everything magical that theater can be and I am determined to bring it here to our community. If just one other person who feels marginalized for whatever reason, who feels like an outsider sits in our theater that night and walks away knowing they do not walk alone, then our mission will be accomplished.

 

Bringing a production like this from NYC here to Holmdel is expensive. I am trying to keep ticket cost down to ensure the tickets are accessible to all. So I am asking for your help and more importantly your support.    

 

I am asking you all to donate a small amount of $50 – and more importantly, your name to be added to our playbill listing for the show under the title We “Walk” With You– you will understand the walk with me reference after the show. And I promise you, you will be proud to have played a part in bringing this amazing show to our community.

Sincerely,

Colleen Cook

Executive Director

Holmdel Theatre Company

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