16 April 23rd - April 29th, 2026 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | The Odd Couple Showbiz legend Marsha Mason takes the helm for ‘The Roommate.’ BY JENNIFER GOLDBERG I t’s not every day you get to speak with an entertainment legend. Marsha Mason has appeared in films, television and the theater since the 1960s, racking up credits and accolades along the way. She met her ex-husband, Neil Simon, when the cele- brated playwright cast her in a play in 1973 and appeared in a number of his projects. She’s been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress four times, for “Cinderella Liberty,” “The Goodbye Girl,” “Chapter Two” and “Only When I Laugh.” But these days, the 84-year-old actress is more likely to be found behind the scenes, and most recently, in Arizona. Mason is the director of “The Roommate,” the Jen Silverman-penned play that’s currently showing at Arizona Theatre Company at Tempe Center for the Arts through April 26. It tells the story of two very different women who find themselves cohabiating, and not always civilly. It’s not her first outing with ATC; she directed “Act of God” for the company in 2016, along with “Chapter Two” in 2017. For “The Roommate,” she spent about five weeks in Tucson, where the ATC production ran first, then came to Tempe to get the cast and crew ready for the local performances. Mason recently spoke with us about “The Roommate,” working with the ATC team and the benefits of acting and directing. Phoenix New Times: Your journey with “The Roommate” began back in New York. How did you get involved with that production? Marsha Mason: Jack O’Brien asked me to be his associate director, so I was there for the entire experience, and actually ended up having to go on for Mia (Farrow) because she caught COVID right after we opened. So we had to do something to keep the show open. I wound up going on for four performances or something till she could come back. And then Matt August, the artistic director in Arizona – he was there opening night, we met, chatted and then he asked me if I’d be interested in directing it for his theater and I said yes. Because I had worked at Arizona years before, twice, and it was fun to go back, you know? What drew you to “The Roommate”? First of all, the play is beautifully written by Jen Silverman. It’s about two contrasting, very different women who are thrown together in a rather unlikely rela- tionship, and they learn and grow from one another. It’s just wonderfully funny and moving and it’s a great way to really see about staying open to how people can be very different and yet find common ground with which to gain affection and opening up themselves to a different world because of the other person. So I loved the journey for both women. It’s very different. And they affect each other in the most wonderful and meaningful ways, so the play is very rich in that respect. And it’s done with humor and a great sense of vulnerability and charm. Two very different women find themselves cohabitating in “The Roommate.” (Tim Fuller) >> p 18 ▼ Arts & Culture
