Rousuck's Review: "The Roommate" Moves In At Everyman Theatre

WYPR - 88.1 FM Baltimore | By J. Wynn Rousuck,

Published November 10, 2016 at 11:55 AM EST

Beth Hylton and Deborah Hazlett in The Roommate.

Up-and-coming playwright Jen Silverman's The Roommate, which opened November 6th at Baltimore's Everyman Theatre, is described in the theater notes as "a mash-up between 'Thelma and Louise' and 'the Odd Couple.'" If you're too young to get those cultural references, let's just say The Roommate -- set in a "big old house" in Iowa City -- is a funny play about two very different middle-aged mothers, played by Everyman's Deborah Hazlett and Beth Hylton, who wind up living as roommates, and whose close-quartered experience yields both friendship and self-discovery. Silverman's wry comedy is directed by Johanna Gruenhut, with set design by Timothy Mackabee, lighting by Jesse Belsky, and costume design by Sarah Cubbage.

As she does most every Thursday here on Midday, theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck joins Tom in the studio today with her review of The Roommate.

The Roommate continues at Everyman Theatre through Sunday, Nov. 27th.

J. Wynn Rousuck

J. WynnRousuckhas been reviewing theater for WYPR's Midday (and previously, Maryland Morning) since 2007. Prior to that, she was the theater critic of The Baltimore Sun, where she reviewed more than 3,000 plays over the course of 23 years. Her feature coverage for The Sun included a comprehensive series chronicling the development of the Tony Award-winning musical, “Hairspray.” Judy got her start at The Cleveland Press and at Cleveland’s fine arts radio station,WCLV. Her broadcasting experience also includes a year as an on-air theater critic for Maryland Public Television.A member of the Artistic Advisory Committee of Young Audiences of Maryland, Judy is also a freelance teacher for the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth and the Hippodrome Foundation, Inc. (the Hippodrome’s non-profit partner, which focuses on education and outreach). She was a faculty member at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s Critics Institute in Waterford, CT, for two decades; she is a former National Endowment for Humanities Journalism Fellow; and she was a visiting student at Brown University (2007-2008), under the mentorship of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Paula Vogel. Judy and her husband, Alan Fink, share their home with two dogs, who enjoy hearing their “Master’s Voice” on WYPR.

See stories by J. Wynn Rousuck

Rob Sivak

Rob Sivak joins the WYPR Maryland Morning team as Senior Producer after a 36-year career at the congressionally funded global broadcaster, Voice of America, where he honed his skills as a news and feature reporter, producer, editor and program host.

See stories by Rob Sivak

Tom Hall

Host, Midday (M-F 12:00-1:00)

See stories by Tom Hall