THE ROOMMATE Comes to ArtsWest

ArtsWest will present THE ROOMMATE by Jen Silverman, directed by Kathryn Van Meter. The cast features Mari Nelson and Sarah Harlett who have previously been featured together in BRING DOWN THE HOUSE & RICHARD III (Upstart Crow) - but you have never seen them together in a side-splitting comedy like this! THE ROOMMATE is an audacious, laugh out loud comedy about the power of friendship and the risk & rewards of reinvention. THE ROOMMATE performs at ArtsWest from September 25 – October 19, 2025. 
 
Sharon, in her mid-fifties, is recently divorced and needs a roommate to share her Iowa home. Robyn, also in her mid-fifties, departs from the Bronx in need of a place to hide and a chance to start over. But as Sharon begins to uncover Robyn’s secrets, they encourage her own deep-seated desire to transform her life completely. A dark comedy about what it takes to re-route your life – and what happens when the wheels come off. The New York Times describes THE ROOMMATE as, “Delicious [and] surreal. … A play that gives two non‑ingénues strange [and] meaty roles.”
 
Director Kathryn Van Meter was excited to reach out to the wealth of talented actors in Seattle who are in the middle or later stages in their career with two spectacular roles. A playground for actors because THE ROOMMATE is packed with twists and turns that will keep the audience on their toes. “These women are both in really reflective moments in their lives. Some big changes have occurred or are occurring for both of them. The journey of discovery to see where they end up - how the meeting of each other will affect each other- is a really wild ride.”
 
Kathryn Van Meter returns to ArtsWest after directing ATHENA by Gracie Gardner in Spring of 2025. ATHENA was a high-stakes, highly physical comedy about two teen female athletes that featured live fencing onstage. THE ROOMMATE shares the same kind of fast paced, sharp dialogue. Both plays, Van Meter shares, are “a well-rounded examination of what it is to be a woman at a certain time in your life.”
 
THE ROOMMATE kicks-off ArtsWest’s 2025-2026 Season titled Between Us. The season features 5 bold contemporary plays that explore the invisible threads that bind us — the responsibilities we bear for one another, the debts of care we carry, and the lifelines we extend in moments of crisis. As the characters journey from strangers to friends, THE ROOMMATE takes audiences on a comedic journey to explore the freedom and possibility that comes when someone gives permission to reject the norm.
ArtsWest will present THE ROOMMATE Thursday through Saturday at 7:30pm and Saturday through Sunday at 3pm.