After pulling in $7 million in its first day of limited sales, the revival of The Odd Couple starring Broadway's most lucrative pair--Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick--is putting up another block of tickets beginning on June 20th at 10 AM; these tickets cover performances from February 7th to April 2nd, 2006. As with the first batch that went on sale on June 6th, they are only available to American Express card holders.
The
show begins previews on October 4th, but if sales continue along the blockbuster
lines of the first day, the show could potentially sell out its limited
run before it begins performances. It is also possible for the Neil
Simon comedy to recoup its entire investment before opening. Tickets officially go on sale to the general public on July 5th.In
addition to the bonanza team of Lane and Broderick, the production will
feature Lee Wilkof, Rob Bartlett, Brad Garrett, Olivia d'Abo and
Jessica Stone. Rehearsals for The Odd Couple are scheduled to begin on Septemper 6th.The Odd Couple
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 will be produced by Emanuel Azenberg, Ira Pittelman, Jeffrey Sine, Max Cooper and Ben Sprecher. Directed by Joe Mantello, The Odd Couple will open on October 4th at the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre.
