May 28 to June 15

At the City Stage in Union Station

Kansas City Actors Theatre (KCAT) kicks off their 2025/2026 Season 21 with The Roommate, a poignant, hilarious play by playwright, novelist, and screenwriter Jen Silverman. This two-women tour de force stars Kansas City favorites Carla Noack, and KCAT Company Member Jan Rogge, and directed by KCAT Company Member Darren Sextro. This production runs from May 28 to June 15 at the City Stage in Union Station. Tickets are on sale now at https://www.kcactors.org/shows/the-roommate/

“The Roommate is an “Odd Couple” for today with lots of that same comedic payoff. What I most love about Jen Silverman’s script is that it demonstrates that, no matter how far along we are in our lives, we can still choose to change how we self-define, to alter our paths forward.” – Darren Sextro, Director

Starring Jan Rogge and Carla Noack

Fresh from a critically acclaimed Broadway revival, The Roommate tells the story of the recently divorced Sharon (Jan Rogge) who needs a new roommate in her Iowa home, when in comes Robyn (Carla Noack), an “entrepreneur” looking for a place to hide. The two women change each other’s lives and lead each other to discoveries surrounding aging, femininity, and identity in this hilarious dark-comedy. “The Roommate tugs at the heartstrings just as much as it tickles the funny bone.” (Louisville Magazine).

The Roommate stars Carla Noack as Robyn, a Bronx-raised entrepreneur turned scam artist looking for a fresh start in Iowa. Carla returns to the KCAT stage, having previously been seen in Little Women, A Doll’s House, The Realistic Joneses, The Collection, and Night. KCAT Company Member Jan Rogge stars as Sharon, the recently divorced, Iowan housewife struggling with her newly empty nest. Jan is a KCAT Company Member who has previously been seen in Grand Horizons, The Price, The Pests, ‘night, Mother, Blithe Spirit, A Lie of the Mind, Sea Marks, My Old Lady, Crimes of the Heart, Good People, Marion Bridge, and Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf?. The Roommate is directed by KCAT’s Co-Artistic Committee Chair Darren Sextro, who has previously directed KCAT’s Trouble in Mind, Little Women, Spider’s Web, A Doll’s House, My Old Lady, Skylight, and Crimes of the Heart.

“…loose, rebellious, and even wild…” (Variety)

The creative team for The Roommate includes scenic design by Jeremy Smith (KCAT debut), costume design by Kjerstin Anderson (KCAT debut), lighting design and technical direction from Josh Taylor (KCAT debut), sound design from Paul Vedros (KCAT debut), properties design by Taylor Jene Sullivan (KCAT’s Trouble in Mind and The Lehman Trilogy). The production stage manager is Pamela A. West, with assistant stage management by Ari Hernandez, and Brianne Taylor provided dialect coaching.

Tickets for The Roommate start as low as $20 and can be purchased online at https://www.kcactors.org/shows/the-roommate/ by phone at (816) 361-5228 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm). The Roommate has one Pay-What-You-Can performance on Monday, June 2 at 7:30 PM.

The Roommate is generously sponsored by Valerie and Mark Andruss.

 

 

Coming Up Next:

Kansas City Actors Theatre Season 21 continues through March 2026

Following up The Roommate, comes a new translation and adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya from August 6 to 24 at the City Stage in Union Station. Chekhov mixes the tragic with the absurd in this study of middle-class life. Vanya and his niece care for the estate of Vanya’s brother-in-law, but when said brother-in-law returns with a new wife, affairs are made known, flirtation brings disaster, and the lives of the family come undone. Starring Chioma Anyanwu, Hillary Clemens, Scott Cordes, Nedra Dixon, Sarilee Kahn, Jerry Mañan, and Victor Raider-Wexler; directed by Matt Schwader.

Right on the heals of Uncle Vanya comes Ira Levin’s seminal comedy-thriller Deathtrap, one of the longest-running Broadway thrillers of all time presented at the City Stage in Union Station from September 10 to 28. A washed-up writer of Broadway thrillers struggles to find his next great idea, but when his former student brings a new script to his doorstep, he see’s a chance to make it big once more. And it might just be a chance he’d kill for! Starring Brian Paulette, Christina Schafer, Sam Cordes, Val Fagan, and Logan Black; directed by Ile Haggins.

Closing out Season 21, from March 4 to 22, 2026 comes a play from this year’s Pulitzer Prize-winner, Everybody, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. A modern riff on a 15th Century morality play that follows the main character of “Everybody” as they explore life’s greatest mystery: it’s own meaning. A meta-adaptation with a unique twist where the role of “Everybody” is chosen by lottery each night, so you’re going to want to see it multiple times! Featuring Teisha M. Bankston, John Rensenhouse, Cinnamon Schultz, and more to be announced; directed by Vanessa Severo.

Learn more about the season and subscribe at www.kcactors.org/season-21/

______

About Kansas City Actors Theatre
Formed and overseen by a collective of local theatre artists, Kansas City Actors Theatre (KCAT) produces thought-provoking plays that explore, celebrate, and share what it is to be human with sensitivity, intelligence, and humor. KCAT nurtures the local artistic community by employing the finest talents of Kansas City’s diverse professional theatre community, which in turn makes Kansas City a more vibrant, vital place to live and work.