The comic star, who recently ended his 9-year run on the CBS hit Everybody Loves Raymond, will be making his Broadway debut in the role.Garrett has a long resumé of film and television credits. He has appeared and/or done voiceover work in such films as Finding Nemo (in which he voiced Bloat the Pufferfish), The Country Bears, Stuart Little 2, Sweet and Lowdown, A Bug's Life and Caspar. He played the title role of the great Honeymooners star in the 2002 TV biopic Gleason, and other television credits include Justic League, Kim Possible, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Murphy Brown, Superman, Seinfeld, Mad About You and The Tick. Prior to the movie and TV roles, Garrett had enjoyed a thriving career as a stand-up comedian. The Odd Couple, written by Neil Simon,
relates the platonic love story of two very mismatched men--neatnik
photographer Felix Unger (Broderick) and sportswriting sloven Oscar
Madison (Lane). Sharing a room, their initial warm feelings for one
another are tested when their lifestyles clash.
The original production of The Odd Couple opened
at the Plymouth Theatre on March 10, 1965, and ran for 966
performances. Directed by Mike Nichols, the show starred Art Carney as
Felix and Walter Matthau as Oscar. The show won 4 of its 5 Tony
nominations, including the Best Author (Play) Tony for Simon. A classic
1968 film version would have Matthau reprising his role as Oscar, with
Jack Lemmon as Felix. A revised female version opened in 1985, with
Rita Moreno as "Olive" and Sally Struthers as "Florence." There was
also a hit TV version that starred Jack Klugman as Oscar and Tony
Randall as Felix.The revival, directed by Joe Mantello, will open on October 4th at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre for what is likely to be a limited run.