Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown, MA
through July 16, 2017
by Jarice Hanson
 |
| Photo by Daniel Rader |
Hartford-born playwright Jen Silverman has a knack for
matching dialog to regional culture and in exploring the challenges of
middle-age. “The Roommate,” which is one of her newest plays, features a female
odd-couple who seem to have nothing in common until they try to live together
and find out they can help each other escape the lives they’ve accepted as
“normal.”
This production features two extraordinary actresses known
to many from their iconic television portrayals, but each is cast against
“type.” S. Epatha Merkerson, known to many as Lt. Van Buren from “Law &
Order,” plays Sharon, an Iowa housewife who leads a staid life until Robyn, a
rebellious woman from the Bronx, comes to share her home. Jane Kaczmarek, known
to many as the mom from the television series “Malcolm in the Middle” plays
Robyn, the “bad girl” laying low in Sharon’s Iowa home. Though both actresses have extensive
theatre, television, and film credentials, watching them together on stage is a
treat. The electricity they generate is palpable, and their professional (and
personal) generosity toward each other enhances the growing relationship their
characters project.
Director Mike Donohue has helmed several of Silverman’s
earlier plays, including the world premiere of “The Roommate” in 2015, but his
talent lies in balancing the elements of the play that people can relate to,
like motherhood and social isolation, with the exaggerated comedy of the
situations that ensue as two very different women meet and explore friendship
and survival. The juxtaposition of the real and comic situations prompt the
audience to laugh loud and laugh often, but the message of the play is also
more than that of a staged sit-com. It is a respectful nod to the need to continually
challenge one’s self and cope with change. And even better, it is a respectful
look at women in their ‘50’s who can be desperate, fun, sexy, and
adventurous—all at the same time.
“The Roommate” is the first of Williamstown’s Main Stage
productions, and it sets a high bar for the rest of the season. One can only
hope that Jen Silverman continues to write with such feeling and compassion,
and that these two delightful actresses will be back again.
