“The Roommate" at Riverside Theatre -- April 28 through May 14.
Friday, April 28, through Sunday, May 14
Riverside Theatre, 119 East College Street, Iowa City IA
With Stage & Cinema describing Riverside Theatre's 2022-23 season-ender as "pure joie de vivre meets industrial-strength sang-froid," the twisty comedy The Roommate enjoys an April 28 through May 14 run at Riverside Theatre, this work by lauded author and University of Iowa Playwrights Workshop graduate Jen Silverman lauded by Splash magazine as "crafted with wit and an eye for nuance."
In The Roommate, the 50-something homemaker Sharon, recently divorced and an anxious empty-nester, has some trepidation when she advertises for someone to share her large home in Iowa City. After all, she’s never had a roommate before. Her alarm increases when she discovers that her new roommate Robyn is a pot-smoking vegetarian lesbian from the Bronx, who arrives with a box full of clay voodoo dolls. The equally 50-something Robyn, a former entrepreneur and scam artist, has fled to Iowa looking to get a fresh start, find some peace and quiet, and prove to her estranged daughter that she can turn her life around. She, in turn, is alarmed to find in Sharon a nosy and persistent new friend who discovers her secrets ... notably her secret stash of fake I.D.s and former identities.
Fascinated, Sharon convinces an unwilling Robyn to school her in the art of the telephone scam, and blossoms as she discovers her persuasive powers to fool and beguile even the members of her local book group. For a busy, idyllic time, the two women enjoy a friendship while raking in the cash. But when their connection deepens into an attraction, Robyn must make a choice to keep them both safe in this poignant, hilarious one-act – Silverman's powerful story about personal transformation, life transitions, love, friendship, and identity.
Enacting the two roles in Silverman's acclaimed work that was described by Let's Play at Chicago as "The Odd Couple meets Breaking Bad" are Actors’ Equity Association member Joy Vandervort-Cobb as Sharon and Mary Mayo as Robyn, with the production directed by Nina Morrison, whose previous Iowa City credits include th University of Iowa's Lady by the Sea. The play's scenic design is by Jonathan Wentz, with Karlē J. Meyers serving as its costume designer. And with stage management courtesy of Maggie McClellan, additional members of Morrison' creative team include lighting designer Jim Vogt, sound designer Bri Atwood, intimacy director Carrie Pozdol, assistant stage manager Reese Morgan, and board operator Hannah Green.
The Roommate will be staged in Iowa City from April 28 through May 14, with performance Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Admission is $15-35, and more information and tickets are available by calling (319)259-7099 and visiting RiversideTheatre.org.
