David X Novak
  • Home
  • About
  • Poetry
  • Plays
  • Prose
  • Books
  • News
  • Contact

Brief Thoughts on The Roommate at Steppenwolf

7/26/2018

 

Steppenwolf has The Roommate by Jen Silverman directed by Phylicia Rashad and starring Ora Jones and Sandra Marquez.

The script is nothing special, and I’m not fond of two-handers at all. But it felt refreshing and heartening to see a cast comprising “two middle-aged women” carry a show. (The descriptor comes from the playbill somewhere.)

Both are well-known in Chicago. I especially have tried to see Marquez, after her performance in Court's Agamemnon. Clytemnestra must be the role of a lifetime, but an actor takes what they can get, and from an actor’s perspective this is not bad.

What I didn’t like about it? Both characters were inveterate (or invertebrate) liars and scammers with no distinguishing redemptive characteristics. To be sure, Macbeth and his Lady are awful personages; but they are morally complicated and talk about it in interesting ways. Plus there is some action and resolution to the play; this had none of that.

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    News?

    A new poem is always news to the poet.
    ​Or whatever.

    Archives

    April 2020
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed