After her divorce, Sharon needs a housemate for the first time in her life to share her home and expenses in Iowa City. Robyn, a woman from a completely different background in the Bronx, moves in and their developing friendship takes them on an unexpected journey of new experiences, cross-influence, and change, in the Broadway premiere of playwright Jen Silverman’s one-act dramedy The Roommate at the Booth Theatre. Starring Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone, the two-hander, directed by Jack O’Brien, challenges their existing ideas of identity and morality, along with preconceived notions about the ability of women of a certain age to embrace transformation and starting over, with an intended mix of humor, insight, and poignancy that too often defies credibility but is saved by the entertaining performances.
The two perfectly cast superstars of the stage and screen deliver the laughs, the disparate personalities, blossoming chemistry, and life-changing impact on one another, from their initial awkward meeting to gradually opening up, getting to know one another, disclosing and uncovering secrets, and caring about each other, through a growing connection that takes them in completely unexpected and seemingly uncharacteristic over-the-top directions. O’Brien sets a brisk pace and has them actively moving around the stage, with telling props that are central to many of the plot’s surprises and character reveals (no spoilers here, you’ll have to see it to find out what happens).
Farrow’s Sharon is sweet, traditional, and naïve, accepting and supportive, lovable but nervous and deeply lonely since her husband left and her adult son moved to New York. LuPone’s bold and acerbic Robyn, a former slam poet and potter, “healthy” vegan, unsuccessfully trying-to-quit smoker, and mysterious ‘entrepreneur’ on the run, exposes her to a way of life she’s never known, while also navigating the shared complexities of being a mother to an adult, and wanting to move on from the life she’s known to one that will make her happy. It’s all masterfully registered in their vocal inflections, body language, and facial expressions, in evolving portrayals that uncover what lies beneath the surface of what they generally manifest, what they truly want, and how they really feel.
The humor ranges from the contrast in Sharon and Robyn’s taste in music (The Singing Nun versus Patti Smith), recurrent sit-com-style one-liners about the differences between the Midwest and the City (and even between Iowa and Illinois), a segment of Farrow adopting a hilarious faux-French accent to scam a friend on the phone, and the overarching theme that “There is great liberty in being bad” – especially for a 65-year-old woman who never before was. Really?
Supporting the antithetical characterizations of Sharon and Robyn are defining costumes, with hair, wigs, and make-up by Robert Pickens & Katie Gell. Bob Crowley’s static set captures the look and feel of a traditional two-story frame house and kitchen in contemporary middle America, with a wall phone still in use by the sexagenarians. Natasha Katz’s lighting and projections on the back wall indicate the passage of time with changes from day to night, Mikaal Sulaiman’s sound is clear and synchronized with the action, and original music by David Yazbeck enhances the shifting moods of the women and their story.
While the arc of the characters is more emblematic and comical than believable, and they, the far-fetched plot points, and disturbing ending require a big stretch of the imagination and a suspension of disbelief, if you’d like to see two outstanding lead performances with compelling interactions by the sensational Farrow and LuPone, get your tickets now; the limited engagement runs for only twelve weeks.
Running Time: Approximately one hour and 40 minutes, without intermission.
The Roommate plays through Sunday, December 15, 2024, at the Booth Theatre, 222 West 45th Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $48-321, including fees), go online.
