Mia Farrow has not been on a Broadway stage for thus lengthy that we forgot how a lot we missed her. Now she’s again in a brand new play referred to as The Roommate, and he or she’s forgotten nothing, so why ought to we? She’s bought the identical fragile, pink, not-quite-grownup magnificence and the identical transcendental, understated attraction she all the time had, however she’s added a number of tips to the combination within the route of been-around maturity that spells knowledge. The play, by rookie playwright Jen Silverman, is a two-hander, which implies there are two stars for the worth of 1, and the opposite half of the stage is greater than absolutely occupied by the formidable Patti LuPone. To be trustworthy, no one who is aware of—or cares—concerning the theatre would name The Roommate something to put in writing residence about. However with co-stars like these, you actually get your cash’s value.
If opposites appeal to, then the Farrow-LuPone combo is what I name excellent casting. Farrow performs Sharon, a lonely 65-year-old divorced nerd with dated pigtails, sq. midwestern values, and a future as bleak as the large, ugly kitchen in Sharon’s dismal home in, of all locations, Iowa Metropolis. Determined for somebody to speak to and fill her spare bed room, she locations an advert for a roommate and will get Robyn, a tricky, jaded, pot-smoking Bronx lesbian with a sordid previous the phrase “unconventional” doesn’t start to cowl. Sharon by no means had a roommate in her life, a lot much less a lesbian roommate. She doesn’t drink something stronger than Sanka and by no means smoked a lot as a chlorophyll filter, whereas Robyn carries round a bottle of whiskey and grows her personal “medicinal herbs” in pots on the window sill, which she puffs till cross-eyed. Sharon likes to cook dinner, and Robyn is a vegetarian. They each had been as soon as married they usually every have grown kids who stay as distant from their moms as they’ll get and talk solely by lengthy distance.
Sharon says she’s retired from marriage, however because the play drags on, it turns into fairly apparent that she’s actually retired from life. With a familiarity that slowly grows right into a cautious however relaxed belief, Robyn reveals her prison previous, which grew from scamming the aged out of their life financial savings to stealing cars. Sharon finds all of it so fascinating that she longs to fill Robyn’s sneakers, wanting to attempt every little thing. Earlier than it’s over, below her roommate’s supervision, Sharon is operating an enormous enterprise baking pot brownies, ripping off the ladies in her e-book membership, shopping for assault weapons on the Walmart in Cedar Rapids, and even entertaining the concept of same-sex hanky panky. Robbing and stealing and promoting dope, mild-mannered Sharon eventually finds a great cause to stand up within the morning.
The Roommate, I’m sorry to say, isn’t superb. Nothing ever occurs in it. The women discuss incessantly however by no means say something related. It’s solely 100 minutes in size with out an intermission, however appears for much longer. Nonetheless, the comedian timing of Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone, below the polished route of veteran Jack O’Brien, supplied the weather for a passable night, and the deafening cheers of the viewers the evening I noticed the play appeared to agree. If nothing else, name The Roommate glamorous summer season inventory. However typically, that’s sufficient, even on Broadway.
The Roommate | 1hr 30mins. No intermission. | Sales space Theatre | 222 W forty fifth Road | 866-302-0995 | Purchase Tickets Right here
