The Odd Couple
The second show of MMAS's season is Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple". It
is a timeless classic that focuses on the relationship between
two friends trying to restart their lives after they both go through messy
breakups of their marriages. It also a serious story of friendship and how
bonds can be tested and even broken if not handled with care. It is
the well known story of sloppy Oscar Madison taking in cleaning
fanatic Felix Ungar after his wife Frances throws him out of the house.The
story focuses on its two main characters but the audience rapidly
comes to appreciate the cameo roles of the other characters. It
also includes their poker playing buddies, Murray, the cop, Speed, the
cigar smoker, Roy, Oscar's accountant and Vinnie, the sandwich eater.
Throw in the scene stealing British Pigeon sisters and you have
the necessary ingredients for the comic romp that follows.
Director Neil Colvin chooses the best performers for these 8
roles. He gives them wonderful characterizations and shtick to do
bringing out the full potential of his performers.Neil blocks the show
very well especially when they chase Felix all over the place and
Oscar throws a glass of water in his face.The beautiful set is by Gary
Poholek with Ken Butler and Glenn Fournier doing the art work with a
background of New York being very impressive. Stage manager Maggie
Nichols keeps things running smoothly all night long. (She recently
played the role of Bella in their "Lost in Yonkers".)The costumes are by
Ann-Marie Lambert. Kevin Mischley handles the difficult role of the
neurotic, Felix. He clears his throat, hurts his arm throwing an
empty glass, he sulks,has a big fake grin when the girls enter and
has wonderful hang dog expressions. Kevin's Felix tells off Oscar in a
very funny scene but his funniest scenes are when he yells
at Oscar for being late for dinner while waving his ladle around at him,
when he catches Gwen's cigarette in his lighter and when
he cries with the two sisters about Frances and his
two children,endearing himself to them. Kevin does a dynamite job in this
role and earns many laughs with his comic portrayal.(I last reviewed Kevin
as Julian Marsh in "42nd Street" in June.) Bill Roberts
plays the loudmouth Oscar beautifully. His slow burn and exasperation at
Felix's anal behavior is topnotch. Bill's throwing of the potato chips and
the cards, telling off Felix in the last scene and his throwing of
the linguini on the kitchen wall are hilarious. Oscar is always
broke, blustery, bossy, and in the end good hearted under his
veneer. (I last reviewed Bill as Caiphas in "Jesus Christ Superstar"
last summer.) He and Kevin make a very good odd couple indeed.
Their card playing cronies bring their characters to life, making it
easy for the audience to figure out who is who doing a wonderful job while
doing so. Richard Stiles does a beautiful job as Murray, the
blustery policeman. He commands the stage as this funny authority
figure in his scenes. Billy Castro does an excellent job as
Vinnie, the cheapskate who goes to Florida in July to save money. His
nervous behavior and commenting on the BLT on
toasted pumpernickel that Felix made him without the crust is
hysterical. His line delivery is topnotch. I directed Billy in this
show as Roy. Steve Valdez plays Roy, who worries about how Oscar will
pay his alimony to Blanche by being a spendthrift and losing his money at
the poker games. Roy complains in the second act when he can't
breathe in the too clean apartment that Felix has created. David
Butler(Ken's brother) who recently returned to the Mansfield area
after spending six years in Ireland,plays cigar chomping Speed who also
loves sports and yells back at Oscar's outbursts. He is bossy and yells at
Murray and Vinnie to stop discussing food during the poker game.The two
actresses who play the Pigeon sisters, Michelle Monti as
Gwendolyn and Colleen Johnson as Cecily, are a hoot with their
perfect British accents and they steal the scene with their
humorous antics. Their crying scene with Felix, their giggling
on the couch while talking to Oscar and their final scene where they
tell Oscar off are standout moments in this show. I have fond memories of
this show when I directed it back in 2005 for Academy Players in East
Greenwich, RI. So for an excellent evening of comedy at its best, be sure
to catch this well known show before time runs out.
THE ODD COUPLE ( 23 October to 8 November,
2009)
MMAS, Blackbox Theatre, 377 North Main Street,
Mansfield, MA
1(508) 339-2822 or www.mmas.org