Kansas City Actors Theatre kicks off their twenty-first season with a super production of Jen Silverman’s THE ROOMMATE about two women who stumble awkwardly towards each other and learn a bit more than either one is ready to absorb. This two hander has been kicking around regional theaters for about ten years before landing on the stage of the Booth Theater on the Great White Way at the end of 2024 for a limited engagement with Patty LuPone and Mia Farrow in the starring roles.
The play takes place in a big old Iowa City house currently occupied by Sharon (Jan Rogge), an empty nester whose son has relocated to New York City to pursue a career as a woman’s clothing designer.
Sharon is a recent divorcee. There does not seem to have been a big blowup. The couple appear to have simply lost interest in each other after a long marriage. She has pursued a part-time job as a store clerk and as a member of a book club. He seems to have found an interest in model trains and airplanes.
The big old house now echoes with stillness. Sharon has decided to take in a roommate to save on expenses and perhaps fill up a portion of the house’s deafening emptiness. It is likely that Sharon has not yet admitted the second reason even to herself.
We have no idea how Sharon advertised for a roommate, but somehow, she meets a likely suspect and interviews her over the telephone.
Enter Robyn (Carla Noack). Robyn has driven two days from New York City to take up residence (sight unseen) near the corn fields of Iowa and reboot her life. Robyn comes from the Bronx section of New York City. She is not exactly what she seems.
We slowly learn about both women, but we are never quite sure what we are seeing. The play is funny. Rogge and Noack play expertly off each other. This could be a comedy of manners like an old Neil Simon farce, or it could be something much darker. It is the latter, darker version. We only find that out in the climatic, final two scenes.
I suspect attempting this play in the 800 seat Booth Theater even with two actors the caliber of LuPone and Farrow would be difficult. This show is probably much more suited to a smaller venue like City Stage inside Union Station. Rogge and Noack do the written material and the playwright proud under the expert direction of Darren Sextro. The comedy timing is sharp. The outcome is unexpected.
Rogge and this audience know people like Sharon from their own experience. One suspects that Noack may have the more difficult role. Noack’s Robyn is the more broadly drawn character, yet she is charged with projecting more nuance.
Picture Rogge’s Sharon as an empty pressure vessel. She is ready to accept whatever content is offered to fill the emptiness. The care that must be taken is not to heat the pressure cooker too quickly and insure that it never explodes.
Robyn is the character offering new content. At first, Sharon is a little frightened of this confident woman newly arrived from the Big Apple. First, Robyn announces she is a strict vegetarian. Sharon does not know what to do with that announcement. Then Sharon is blown away when Robyn comes out as a lesbian. Somehow, the two women bond as people almost instantly. It turns out they can talk, really talk.
We slowly learn Robyn’s story. She has an estranged daughter. She has tried many occupations over her lifetime. She has been a potter, a maker of voodoo dolls, a poet, a grower and seller of Marijuana, a telephone con person, and even a car thief.
Slowly, Sharon partakes of Robyn’s former vices. A taste for the wild side encourages her to try even more. Sometimes Robyn becomes the restraining influence.
Robyn encourages Sharon to get out of the house and date. She helps her fill out a dating profile. Sharon is successful on her first date with a doctor, but after having a bit too much of the grape she and the doctor embrace in the car. Sharon is unsatisfied with the experience. She comes home and explains that the thrill is not there. Sharon eventually dances with Robyn and then embraces her roommate.
This is too much for Robyn. She is Sharon’s friend. She sees the pressure cooker is getting close to bursting.
Robyn will do her friend a solid by simply disappearing and leaving a note. The play ends with Robyn calling her friend in the guise of a con person to make sure Sharon is all right.
THE ROOMMATE is an excellent evening’s entertainment with a super cast, an appropriate set by Jeremy Smith, lights by Josh Taylor, sound by Paul Vedros, and direction by Darren Sextro.
At first, I was a little unsure about Jen Silverman’s choice to set the show in “rural” Iowa City. Silverman was raised internationally. Iowa City is something of a mecca for Arts, Medicine, and College Sports. It turns out that Silverman’s Masters’ Degree in Playwriting was spent at the University of Iowa. Her location choice for this play is solid.
THE ROOMMATE continues at City Stage on the lower level of Union Station through June 15. Tickets can be purchased online or by telephone at 816.361.5228. I full heartedly recommend this production.
Photos by Brian Paulette
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