They say opposites attract. So what do you get when a recently divorced sportswriter and eternal bachelor acquires an uptight, compulsive hypochondriac as a roommate? You get a polarized reaction that is pure comedic gold.
Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple comes to life at the Raven Theater with a witty and irreverent cast. The play brings together best friends Oscar Madison, played by Eric Roach, and Felix Ungar, played by Jon Steinhagen, in a simple tale of tragic circumstances and true friendship. When Felix is thrown out of the house by his wife he stumbles his way to his best friends’ bachelor pad where Oscar, having recently been divorced himself and concerned for his neurotic best friend, takes Felix in. The easy-going and carefree lifestyle of Oscar is turned upside down when Felix’s compulsive tidiness and penny pinching thriftiness threaten to destroy his sanity and their friendship. Can this odd couple learn to live together? Can they get it together before they drive each other insane?
The Odd Couple first premiered on Broadway in 1965 followed by a film and a very successful television series. What makes this play timeless is the relate-ability of Simon’s work. Rumors have it that the play was first dreamt up when Simon witnessed the odd pairing of his brother rooming with a playwright But whether the play was created out of actual events or completely fictionalized, it’s the exposure of human weaknesses and the a portrayal of characteristics that define the American Experience theater that make this play worth seeing. It’s not prophetic, does not have some great moral conclusion, it merely reveals the frailties and familiarity of the human spirit, something that the Raven Theater grasps so accurately with this Odd Couple Cast.
With set designs that completely immerse you in a 1950s/60s bachelor pad, stale pizza and beer included, and the wonderful stage direction and character choreography of Michael Menendian, The Raven Theater captures the Odd Couple as spot-on as when it first premiered in 1965. Everyone has an Oscar and a Felix in their life, so take that special person to the Raven Theater, located at 6157 North Clark Street, for an experience that will leave you thankful that you can afford that one-bedroom studio all on your own.
