BWW Reviews: Classic ODD COUPLE Given Classic Treatment at Sierra Madre Playhouse

The Odd Couple/by Neil Simon/directed by Alan Brooks/Sierra Madre Playhouse/through June 27

It's been 50 years since Neil Simon wrote The Odd Couple, perhaps the most famous of his early plays. March, 1965. I was a freshman in college, and little did I know that one day I would play Felix Unger in a local production onstage. Needless to say, I was certainly smitten with the crazed character and his neurotic mannerisms and with Simon's terribly funny comedic lines, whenever I watched the film with Jack Lemmon and the TV series with Tony Randall. Not so easy to essay...this character - as I found out first hand - for this play with all its laugh.a.minute jokes is really a very serious drama about the frailty of relationships and how we suffer through them. Now onstage in a wonderfully grounded and real portrait, The Odd Couple still holds up; the Sierra Madre Playhouse production, under the meticulous direction of Alan Brooks, does the classic proud.

For those who have forgotten the plot, Frances Unger, Felix's wife, has decided to divorce him. In a suicidal state, Felix (Brad David Reed) shows up very late for his weekly poker game at friend Oscar Madison's apartment (Jack Sundmacher), with pals Murray ((Steve Bean), Roy (Joe Langer), Vinnie (Richard Van Slyke) and Speed (Vince DonVito) nervously awaiting his arrival. They have learned of the separation from Murray's wife via a phone call and are distressed and worried about how he will react. Felix comes in, rushes to the bathroom, claiming he has taken a few pills. The guys are sympathetic and rally him temporarily. After a stressful evening, slob Oscar decides to take Felix in for a while until he gets on his feet and finds a reason to live. Unfortunately, days turn into weeks and clean-freak, obsessive Felix not only cleans up Oscar's messy pad but drives him and all the pals crazy in the process with his compulsive behavior of humidifying the room, spraying lysol all around and literally "washing the cards". Felix is also a meticulous chef and insists that Oscar maintain a rigorous schedule for their nightly dinners. When Oscar, in desperate need of some feminine attention, invites two girls from upstairs the Pigeon Sisters Gwendolyn (Kari Lee) and Cecily (Jane Lui) to the apartment for dinner, Felix burns the London broil, preys on the girls for sympathy regarding his separation and his children, taking all of the attention away from Oscar and his 'make-out' plan for the evening. His behavior creates the ultimate rift in their 'odd' living-together relationship. Oscar refuses to speak to Felix and eventually throws him out. Felix insists on having the last word and puts a curse on Oscar "let it be on your head".

Their 'arrangement' is a marriage of sorts, or Simon creates it that way, to show just how difficult living arrangements can be, especially when one person is a complete free spirit and the other a control.freak. Of course, Oscar and Felix are extreme cases but they present a universal picture as everyone has a little Oscar and a little Felix within their personalities. It is entirely possible to be tidy and exacting with one's appearance and to simultaneously let go, giving into one's wildest imaginings or cravings in the company of others...and keep it all in perspective. Felix and Oscar, on the other hand, hardly the norm, cannot seem to find a happy balance until they part. But both are affected deeply by one another's friendship, and that indeed will last...as long as they live apart. I love Oscar's line to Felix, "The best two things I ever did for you were taking you in and throwing you out."

Under Brooks' cautious attention to detail, the actors give marvelous performances. Reed and Sundmacher play the roles for all they are worth without going over the top. They use their inner resources as actors to convey the weaknesses, except of course when they are forced by the script to use those 'props'. Felix has a distinct prissy way of handling a vacuum cleaner, a can of lysol or a hot broiling pan and Oscar, ever the sports fanatic, a defiant manner of throwing a plate of cold linguini against the wall or a bowl of nuts into the air when he is upset and wants to make a point. Yes, the comedic actions are built in, but both handle it naturally and keep Oscar and Felix on a realistic track. Bean, Langer, Van Slyke and DonVito make the perfect eclectic mix of friends/ poker players and Lee and Lui steal their scenes as the giggling, overly congenial yet terribly supportive Pigeons.

Angela Nicholas had designed some nice period costumes, particularly those colorful matching outfits for the sisters. Orlando de la Paz's scenic design is the perfect New York apartment in the 60s and the staff work wonders in making fast and expert scene changes, especially after Act I where they convert Oscar's slovenly mess into a clean and organized space.

Don't miss this Odd Couple! It comes off the way it should, an ode to Neil Simon, with no unnecessary distractions. The entire cast and crew are delightful and make this a magical evening of theatre in Sierra Madre.

http://sierramadreplayhouse.org/

Post note: the lobby of SMP is delicious with the left wall devoted to Oscar's team and the right, to Felix's. In the picture below we see a glimpse of Felix's brain with all of his peculiar and exacting behavioral traits.

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