The brilliance is evident as early as the opening moments of The Rep’s superb production of The Roommate, the season’s first offering in the Steve Woolf Studio Series.

The situation is ordinary at the start of the two-character play by Jen Silverman. One woman is moving into another’s Iowa home. The scene is special because of what the actors add to their lines. In Kelley Weber’s performance, Sharon, the homeowner, is struggling to be gracious but cannot conceal her underlying anxiety. Her new roommate, Robyn, is collected and cautious, keeping her cards close to her vest in Nancy Bell’s portrayal.

The dialogue implies this meeting’s awkwardness, but it is magnified by Bell and Weber. Throughout the play, their nonverbal acting continually illuminates their characters’ inner lives, and they make the most of every opportunity for humor. Under Rebekah Scallet’s direction, the performances are consistently insightful, communicative, and entertaining.

Both women are middled aged, but Robyn is far more worldly-wise than Sharon, who has “retired” from a long marriage. Robyn, who has come to Iowa from the Bronx, tries to keep her past to herself, but Sharon eventually learns that much of Robyn’s experience is on the wrong side of the law.

In Robyn’s colorful history, Sharon sees an entryway to excitement she has never known. The action is filled with danger and delight as Robyn introduces Sharon to the life Robyn wants to leave behind.

Robert Mark Morgan’s scenic design works wonders to convey the size and age of “a big old house in Iowa City.” The audience is on three sides of a set that includes two entrances, living and dining areas, a kitchen with an island, stairs to a second floor, a porch, and several windows. Scallet’s direction exploits all this space. The color scheme is a sign of how old the kitchen is.

A deep understanding of the play is reflected in Lou Bird’s costumes, Jayson M. Lawshee’s lighting, Kareem Deanes’s sound, and Delaney Piggins intimacy direction.

Though predominantly a comedy, The Roommate has a harrowing moment in which Sharon leaves a stinging voice mail for Robyn. The message’s words are mean spirited enough, but it was Weber’s anguished delivery that drew audible gasps from the opening night audience.

The Roommate continues through November 17 at The Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road.

—Gerry Kowarsky

Photo by Jon Gitchoff
From the left, Kelley Weber as Sharon and Nancy Bell as Robyn in The Roommate.