Smith, Verbeten Star in ACCC's ODD COUPLE, Opening Tonight

Matt Smith and Ted Verbeten star in the iconic roles of Oscar Madison and Felix Ungar in Arts Center of Cannon County's new production of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, opening tonight at the theater in Woodbury for a run through October 15.

Simon's hilarious play centers on a pair of desperately mismatched roommates - one sloppy and one neat - who are arguably the most memorable pair of characters that the successful playwright has ever written. It debuted on Broadway in 1965 and spawned an extremely successful 1968 movie and sitcom that ran for five seasons.

This classic comedy opens as a group of the guys assemble for cards in the apartment of divorced Oscar Madison (Matt Smith), and if the mess is any indication, it's no wonder that his wife left him. Late to arrive is Felix Unger (Ted Verbeten) who has just been separated from his wife. Fastidious, depressed and tense, Felix seems suicidal, but as the action unfolds Oscar becomes the one with murder on his mind when the clean-freak and the slob ultimately decide to room together with hilarious results as The Odd Couple is born.

Directed by Mary Wilson and produced by Beth McCrary, The Odd Couple features many familiar faces, including Smith as Oscar Madison and Verbeten as FelixUngar. The cast also includes David Campbell, Tony Laughlin, Larry Sanders, Mitch Shannon, Melissa Ming and Edy Wilson. Ticket prices are $13 with discounts available for seniors and full time students.

The Arts Center of Cannon County is located at 1424 John Bragg Highway, just west of the town of Woodbury, approximately 20 minutes from Murfreesboro, Manchester, and McMinnville and one hour southeast of Nashville. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Tickets are available by calling the box office at (615) 563-ARTS (2787) or online at www.artscenterofcc.com and at the door one hour prior to show time.