Categories

Find Us

The Odd Couple – The Female Version

The Little Theatre of Alexandria
Jordan Wright
April 27, 2015
Special to The Alexandria Times
 

Brendan Quinn (Jesus), Jennifer Lyons Pagnard (Florence), Gayle Nichols-Grimes (Olive), and Philip Krzywicki (Manolo) - Photos by Keith Waters / Kx Photography

Brendan Quinn (Jesus), Jennifer Lyons Pagnard (Florence), Gayle Nichols-Grimes (Olive), and Philip Krzywicki (Manolo) – Photos by Keith Waters / Kx Photography

Neil Simon’s long-running, ever-popular play The Odd Couple has had more reincarnations than an Indian mystic.  First there was the Broadway premiere in 1965.  Art Carney of The Honeymooners fame was the obsessive-compulsive neat freak, Felix Ungar, and Walter Matthau the slovenly, devil-may-care, Oscar Madison.  (You’ll recall Jack Klugman later replaced Matthau in the TV role.)  In 1968 Matthau was brought back for the film version with Jack Lemmon, the two reprising their roles in 1998 for The Odd Couple II.  Meanwhile The Odd Couple TV series starring Randall and Klugman ran for five years in the early to mid-70’s.

In the 80’s another TV version came onto the landscape – – The New Odd Couple with two black actors, Ron Glass and Demond Wilson.  And, drum roll please.  This February, in its latest television reincarnation, Matthew Perry plays Oscar.  People just can’t seem to get enough of this disparate duo.

Backgrounding these many productions was Simon’s female version for the stage.  Written in 1985 he cloned the personalities of Oscar and Felix, breathing new life into them as Olive Madison (the female Oscar) and Florence Ungar (the female Felix).  The play too is set in 1985, a time of women’s liberation, the re-examination of traditional female roles and changing sexual mores.  It all seems so old hat now.

Elizabeth Replogle (Renee), Michelle Fletcher (Mickey), Kat Sanchez (Sylvie), and Natalie Fox (Vera) - Photos by Keith Waters / Kx Photography

Elizabeth Replogle (Renee), Michelle Fletcher (Mickey), Kat Sanchez (Sylvie), and Natalie Fox (Vera) – Photos by Keith Waters / Kx Photography

I must confess that the stuff of American sit-coms is not really my cup of tea.  Friends insulting friends in the most jovial sort of way, and gleefully backstabbing them when they leave the room, is not my idea of charming and witty humor.  I didn’t like The Three Stooges either, if that tells you something.  But if The Golden Girls gave you belly laughs, then this will be right up your alley.

Florence is in the throes of a divorce and Olive has already been-there-done-that when she takes her in as a roommate.  The unhappy duo is oil and water, struggling to maintain their friendship through the hard times and hysteria, of which there is entirely too much to bear.  Are we bonding yet?

Gayle Nichols-Grimes (Olive) and Jennifer Lyons Pagnard (Florence) - Photos by Keith Waters / Kx Photography

Gayle Nichols-Grimes (Olive) and Jennifer Lyons Pagnard (Florence) – Photos by Keith Waters / Kx Photography

In addition to Olive (Gayle Nichols-Grimes) and Florence (Jennifer Lyons Pagnard), there are Mickey (Michelle Fletcher), Sylvie (Kat Sanchez), Renee (Elizabeth Replogle) and Vera (Natalie Fox).  Later on we meet Olive’s two hot-to-trot Spanish neighbors, brothers Jesus (Brendan Quinn) and Manolo (Philip Krzywicki) – – one sloppy, one neat – – what a surprise.

All in all the cast throws out some lively, if stale, one-liners, “Everything you do irritates me”, “I can’t even have dirty dreams! You clean them up”, and “She’s changed our nice game into the Christian Science Reading Room”.   It keeps the audience happy and the actors working. 

As to weighing this production on its merits, I give kudos to Set Designer MYKE for creating a believable 1980’s era living room for Olive’s Manhattan apartment, the scene of all the action; Costume Designer Ceci Albert who has dug deep into the wardrobe trunks for plenty of polyester and pearls for the six women in the cast; and note another fine performance by Michelle Fletcher, this time as the tough-talking cop.

Through May 16th at The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street. For tickets and information call the box office at 703 683-0496 or visit www.thelittletheatre.com

Comments are closed.