This season Broadway is hoping to use star power to boost ticket sales. So popular movie and television performers are headlining new theatrical productions as well as revivals. Producers hope that fans will flock to the theaters attracted by proximity to their screen favorites.

One of the first shows this fall using this approach is “The Roommate" starring Mia Farrow and Patti Lupone. Employing a familiar trope, playwright Jen Silverman creates a female odd couple, a pair of 60- something women who never would have opted to be friends, let alone live together.

When Robyn from the Bronx flees New York City, she answers Sharon’s ad and moves in with her in Iowa City. Those familiar with Lupone and Farrow won't be surprised at the casting based upon their public personas. Farrow plays the naive Sharon who lives a secluded life. When asked what she is retired from, she answers “marriage.” She has a reading group but not much else except an adult son, a fashion designer living in Park Slope. Although his sexuality is clear to Robyn ( and us ), Sharon claims that he has a lesbian fiancee. Robyn is closemouthed and resists answering personal questions, but eventually through Sharon's persistence, some of her life is revealed. She is running away from her larcenous life in the city, hoping to make a change.

Silverman’s characters are stereotypical, and the casting is obvious. Lupone is the brash, tough, no-nonsense Robyn. Lupone has a terrific delivery and can convey a thought with a word or a glance. She is marvelous, as always, and could bring life to a phone directory (if one still existed), but, unfortunately, Silverman’s script gives her little to do. Sharon’s part is more meaty, and, luckily, the highlight of the show is provided by Farrow’s skilled performance. Sharon, a ‘country mouse, eagerly changes, modeling herself after Robyn. She begins smoking her roommate's medicinal herbs” and copying her scams. Farrow ‘s character becomes more adventurous, yet Robyn shows little change.

Jack O’Brien’s deft direction allows the actresses’ natural chemistry to flow. All the action occurs in Sharon’s big old house in Iowa City. She needs a roommate to share expenses (Set design by Bob Crowley). Silverman uses both characters' phone calls to extend the play beyond the two characters. Sharon’s frequent calls to her son and Robyn's brief messages to her daughter provide some background.

There are no real surprises, and most of the story is predictable. Yet there’s some humor, much of which is dated and stems from Sharon’s isolation. She is filled with stereotypes which she unabashedly shares. She asks about the safety of the Bronx and shows unwillingness to accept her son’s being gay. When she learns of Robyn’s phone scams, she asks “Are you the Nigerians” referring to a popular phone ploy used years ago.

I just wish the talented Lupone, who can imbue a single word with humor, sarcasm and meaning, had a part with more depth. However, my guess is that Lupone fans will be satisfied with what they get while Farrow fans may be pleasantly surprised. I wonder how the play would have worked had the roles been reversed with Lupone being the sheltered one and Farrow the feisty one.

A week before the show, I arrived at the theater at 12:45 for a 1 pm matinee only to be told the show was canceled. (Canceled? Whatever happened to the show must go on? I thought as I immediately turned around and headed back to the LIRR.) Farrow had Covid and the producers realized how disappointed fans would be. So rather than have an understudy go on, the show was canceled. After all, star power sells tickets and fans want the one they paid to see.

Dutifully, I made my way back to the BoothTheatre the following week once Farrow had gotten better. Fortunately and pleasantly, it was worth the return trip.