Two fine actresses pair up in Steppenwolf's 'The Roommate'
“The Roommate” - ★ ★ ½
There are several things to like about Steppenwolf Theatre's Chicago-area premiere of Jen Silverman's “The Roommate,” and two of them are Ora Jones and Sandra Marquez.
The Steppenwolf ensemble members star in this darkish, comedic two-hander about the unlikely and life-changing relationship between women of a certain age who - as artistic director Anna D. Shapiro observes in her program notes - frequently disappear from our cultural and civic cognition.
“The Roommate” confronts that reality with affection and humor. Under the breezy, buoyant direction of Tony Award-winner Phylicia Rashad (“A Raisin in the Sun”), it earned out-and-out guffaws from Sunday's opening-night audience.
We first encounter this odd couple in the warm, spacious kitchen of Sharon's Iowa home (an inviting space designed by John Iacovelli) where she is helping to settle her new roommate, the reserved Bronx transplant Robyn. A lesbian vegan who smokes, Robyn (Jones) is reluctant to share much about herself, including her reason for moving halfway across the country to live with a stranger in a state where she knows no one.
“I guess everybody wants to start over. Burn it down and start over,” muses the garrulous Sharon (Marquez), whose behavior suggests a desire for companionship - and not just help with expenses - prompted her roommate search.
We learn housewife Sharon has a son, a designer who lives in New York City and rarely visits home. Robyn is a former potter and onetime slam poet who grows marijuana, which she describes as “medicinal herbs.”
“Herbs only became drugs when the capitalist economy got involved,” she explained to the audience's spontaneous applause.
The women share a joint, which sparks a friendship and leads to revelations. Before long, the roomies become partners, selling pot-laced brownies to members of Sharon's book club.
Once she gets a taste of the alternative lifestyle, Sharon hungers for more, proving Robyn's motto: “there's liberty in being bad.”
Silverman delivers a couple of twists you may not see coming, and at least one you'll spot a mile away. (At one point, I half suspected her to veer into Sam Shepard territory. She didn't). But the problem with “The Roommate” rests with its implausibilities, specifically pertaining to Sharon.
Silverman hints there might be more to Sharon than her Midwestern conventionality suggests. Case in point: While Robyn is away, Sharon rifles through her unpacked boxes and tries on some of her clothes as if she were trying on a new persona.
But while it's easy to imagine a middle-aged empty-nester deciding to change her life, the choices Sharon makes strain credulity, especially when it comes to how swiftly she adopts her new image. To that extent, they feel more like a writerly contrivance than a genuine transformation.
Yet, it's a delight to watch accomplished actresses such as Jones, who understands the profound impact of stillness, and Marquez, whose deliciously ambiguous final moments are nothing short of masterful.
Frankly, theatergoers could do a lot worse than spend 90 minutes with two of the most watchable actresses working in Chicago. What's not to like about that?
<b>Location:</b> Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago, (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org
<b>Showtimes:</b> 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through Aug. 5. Also 2 p.m. July 18 and 25 and Aug. 1. No 7:30 p.m. show July 29
<b>Running time:</b> About 90 minutes, no intermission
<b>Tickets:</b> $20-$93
<b>Parking:</b> $12 in lot adjacent to the theater; limited street parking available
<b>Rating:</b> For teens and older; contains mature themes and adult language