Review: THE ROOMMATE at Everyman Theatre Gets East Coast Debut

Credit must be given to Everyman's Artistic Director Vince Lancisi who first saw THE ROOMMATE at the Humana Festival in 2015 and knew "...it was something that we just had to produce."

It is filled with heart, humor, poignancy, laughter, grief, and learning to live life to its fullest.

Everyman's Artistic Associate Johanna Gruenhut marks her directorial debut at Everyman with this riveting production. She shows great panache. Gruenhut is a great addition to the Everyman family.

Gruenhut has the pleasure of dealing with two of the Resident Company's finest members, Deborah Hazlett and Beth Hylton. Do not miss these two accomplished performers together on stage non-stop for 90 intermission-less minutes.

This is Hazlett's 20th season as a Resident Company Member and she has given us all so many magnificent memories over the years.

Hylton also possesses an impressive bio and never fails to amaze me. They have worked together at Everyman in DEATHTRAP, AUGUST, OSAGE COUNTY and ALL MY SONS.

To see them together, alone, is a night to remember!

A conundrum facing any critic is to try and not give too much away in a review. I promise not to do so here. There are plenty of surprises in THE ROOMMATE. What I will tell you is to NOT miss this compelling work of art.

The locale of the play is Iowa City, Iowa. It seems the playwright spent time there at the Iowa Playwrights Workshop. Hazlett plays a divorced and lonely housewife in her mid-fifties, has an estranged son living in Park Slope in Brooklyn, and belongs to a book club. Her kitchen has not changed in years with dark brown cabinets, a colonial kitchen set, magnets on the refrigerator, a very used coffee maker and a small CD/radio in which she listens to her ONE CD given to her by her son. The impeccable set design is by one of Baltimore's own, Timothy R. Mackabee, a proud graduate of the Carver School of the Arts and Technology in Towson as well as North Carolina School of the Arts (BFA) and Yale School of Drama (MFA). This is his fifth design at Everyman and I'm confident there will be more.

I noticed no television in the kitchen which I found unusual for a single, middle-aged woman, living alone in Iowa. She rarely listens to music.

But to add to her income, she placed an ad (where would that be?) looking for a female roommate about her age and found one just like her...or is she????

Sight unseen comes Robyn, with torn jeans, loves to listen to music, is a vegan, and has a personality that fits her growing up in the Bronx.

How will these two ever live together??

Well, that's what the play is about. Each character helps the other to help turn their lives around. They share stories about their past lives, talk about the frustration of dealing with children, and how to enjoy life. While there relationship starts off slow, they do reach a peak with shear laughter and they even dance together.

THE ROOMMATE is just plain brilliant.

Sarah Cubbage is spot on with her Costumes and Stowe Nelson's Sound Design is a great addition to the action with the sound of the rain, the coffee brewing, and the sound of a working dishwasher. Jesse Belsky's Lighting allows one to see the passage of time through sunrise and sunsets.

After the play was over, my wife, my son, his fiancé, her mother, and I stayed in the theater and found ourselves talking for about 15 minutes about what we just saw. This certainly is an excellent way to judge how good theater affects us all.

Don't miss it.

THE ROOMMATE runs until November 27, 2016. Tickets are available at 410-752-2208. Visit www.everymantheatre.org for more information and informative videos.

Coming on November 12 at 5 p.m., will be "The World of the Play" where a panel of women reflect and share personal journeys of transformation.

Everyman also presents TNT:Theatre Night for Teens on Tuesday, Dec. 6 beginning at 6 p.m. prior to the performance of DOT. Cost is $10 for dinner, conversation, show, AND dessert. Yes, this is no misprint.

Finally, Everyman's "Winter Gala" will be at the Lord Baltimore Hotel on January 7 at 6 p.m. The dinner part of the evening costs $325 and the "Afterparty Only" (begins at 9:30 p.m.) tickets are $75 to $100. Early Bird price if you order by December 9. Attire is Black Tie and Festive 1920's.

Photo Credit: Stan Barouh

cgshubow@broadwayworld.com

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