On Theater: ‘Odd’ but hilarious after all these years
Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple” may possibly be the funniest play ever written, especially on this side of the Atlantic. The only challengers would be British playwright Michael Frayn’s “Noises Off” and Simon’s own “Rumors.”
The play certainly has a lengthy shelf life. Following its Tony-winning Broadway debut in 1965, it was adapted to an equally popular 1968 movie, a 1970s TV series, a female version and a plethora of local community theater productions (two of which I directed). This season, it’s being revived on the tube in a more modern setting.
Currently, Oscar Madison and Felix Ungar are residing in the Laguna Playhouse with Andrew Barnicle, who spent two decades as the theater’s artistic director, calling the shots. The play itself may be a half-century old, but it still generates gales of laughter.
Barnicle has assembled a first-rate cast headed by Kip Gilman (Oscar) and Maxwell Caulfield (Felix) as the mismatched roommates recovering from the sting of divorce. The ensemble — which includes the four “local color” poker players and the “coo coo Pigeon sisters” — could hardly be better.
Gilman and Caulfield have nailed their well-known characterizations. Felix has the showier role of the twitching, hypochondriac neatnik, while the vulture-like Oscar lies in wait for the opportunity to fire a zinger of a punch line. Predictably drawing the biggest howl is Gilman’s “We’re all out of cornflakes. F.U.,” which has regaled audiences worldwide.
Gilman’s free-wheeling “divorced, broke and sloppy” character is delivered with force and authority, making his last line in the play particularly funny, even if it seems tossed away here. The actor is well aware of the juicier lines and punches them with relish.
Caulfield’s Felix writhes and groans his way into our hearts. He’s at his most effective when, left alone with the visiting Pigeons, he moves them to tears with his personal heartbreak. He’s outgunned physically in the apartment, but he puts up a terrific fight.
The poker players are a contentious lot. Eddie Kehler, Brian Abraham, John Massey and David Nevell establish the atmosphere, which prevails before and after Felix’s arrival. Abraham is particularly effective with his rough-hewn cop character, and Nevell is an earnest nag.
Erika Schindele and Alyson Lindsay easily steal their portion of the show as the giggling, quite English Pigeon sisters, who have “cut the cords” back home and are looking for new adventures in Manhattan. They inject a splendid comic balance (as if one were needed) into an already hilarious situation.
No time period is listed, but Oscar uses a rotary telephone — which seems to work just fine without a cord being plugged into the wall. Curious.
Bruce Goodrich’s expansive apartment setting gives the characters plenty of room to stretch their talents, especially when Oscar and Felix play their second-act chase scene. Julie Keen’s costumes are decidedly casual, and Don Guy’s lighting splendidly illuminates the action.
Few theatergoers will be seeing “The Odd Couple” for the first time, but Simon’s gag lines still score some 50 years after they were first written. It’s a robust revival at the Laguna Playhouse.
TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot.
If You Go
What: “The Odd Couple”
Where: Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through and Fridays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 5:30 p.m. Sundays through March 29 (additional 2 p.m. shows on March 19 and 26; no 5:30 p.m. show on March 29)
Cost: $41 to $61
Information: (949) 497-2787 or https://www.lagunaplayhouse.com
