"The Odd Couple" - The Review

Thanks to an invite from my pal Amy Browning, I got to see a preview of the ARTS production of The Odd Couple, which takes the stage tonight at 8:00 p.m. at the Renaissance Theater in Huntington.

But this is a different version of the show - the sexes of the cast have been flipped (wow, that was an interesting sentence). In other words, the male roles are played by females, and vice-versa. The story is otherwise very much the same and just as funny.

It tells the story of a slob, Olive Madison, who offers to share her apartment with her friend Florence Unger - Flo is left homeless when her husband announces he wants a divorce. Of course, the two are opposites in every way, and the conflict between the obsessive Flo and the messy Olive is at the heart of the show.

Director Bruce Rous has done a great job putting this show together, and the timing and pacing is perfect. He's also smart enough to cast some of the area's best comics in the show.

Playing the part of Olive is my pal Linda Reynolds, who is without a doubt one of the funniest and most skilled actors to ever take the local stage. She can get a howl out of the audience with nothing more than a look or a raised eyebrow, and she owns this part. It's a delight to watch her work.

Also terrific (heck, the whole cast is terrific) is Amy Knell as Florence. As the obsessive, neurotic and repressed Flo, she makes a great opponent for Olive and provides a lot of the show's funniest moments. She gets bonus points for being able to hold her own with Linda - it takes a great actress to manage that!

There are four female supporting roles, as the poker buddies in the original story become Trivial Pursuit-playing pals. Playing the part of police officer Mickey is Tara Hardwick (who has some fun moments as the "straight man"), Sylvie is played by Therese Kirby (another talented comic actress who gets the maximum mileage out of every joke), Vera is played by Jordan Bean (who gets laughs in the role of the dim-but-likeable friend), and Renee is played by Amy Browning (and I admit to being prejudiced because we're friends, but Amy is such a wonderful presence on stage - her expressions are priceless and she adds in some hilarious bits of business throughout - her obsession over the air scrubber had me on the floor. What a gifted comic actress!).

There are two males in the cast, and while they don't get a lot of stage time, they're hilarious every second they're on stage. As Manolo and Jesus Costazuela we have Dylan Clark and Stephen Vance - they started getting laughs on their entrance and didn't let up for the rest of the show. A hilarious turn from both guys!

To be honest, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this show. I'm not a huge Neil Simon fan, but I do like the original Odd Couple, and I wasn't sure it would hold up after being "flipped." I'm happy to report that not only is it just as funny as the original - in many ways, I thought it was even funnier!

It's as simple as this: if you're looking for a show that will make you laugh, is irreverent and darned entertaining, look no further - check out The Odd Couple.