‘Odd Couple’ is Textbook Comedy

By Alice T. Carter

The Pittsburgh Public Theater’s production of Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple” is a dependably funny comedy that offers frequent and abundant laughs.

That’s both its strength and its biggest flaw.

Simon is arguably America’s most successful playwright, and “The Odd Couple” may well be his best known and most popular play.

First performed on Broadway in 1965, the comedy of “The Odd Couple” is based on the conflicting lifestyles of two male friends – - the sloppy, disorderly and cranky Oscar and the meticulously neat, hyper-sensitive, self-dramatizing Felix.

When Felix’s wife tosses him out, he moves into Oscar’s huge, incredibly untidy apartment where Oscar has been living alone since his wife left him.

Naturally, conflict ensues until tensions and comedy boil over when the guys make a disastrous second-act foray into the dating scene with the Pigeon sisters.

“The Odd Couple” is a textbook illustration of the classic Broadway comedy from its three-act, two-intermission format to its fast pacing, use of character, physical comedy and rapid fire patter.

But through no fault of its own “The Odd Couple” has become a familiar patch of the entertainment landscape.

That’s partially because Simon learned his craft writing comedy in the early days of television. And later writers have used “The Odd Couple” as a pattern for their own shows. So much of the action will seem predictable to anyone who has spent time watching classic network sitcoms. The jokes flow freely and the punch lines land with a predictable rhythm and frequency.

But time and changing lifestyles have reduced the novelty and humor of a man who cooks and cleans or one who lives like an overgrown Peter Pan.

Director Ted Pappas makes sure that the pacing never lags and adds some impressive gags that depend on timing and coordination, which the company of actors pull off flawlessly.

Pappas, scenic designer James Noone and costume designer Martha Bromelmeier wisely set the play firmly in its 1960s world when everyone smoked, hard liquor flowed freely and an eight-room Manhattan apartment rented for less than $300 a month.

Andrew Polk and John Scherer head the cast as the squabbling opposites Oscar and Felix.

Polk, who is making his Pittsburgh Public Theater debut, plays Oscar with a carefree veneer that cracks occasionally, letting us see that he knows and regrets that he irretrievably loused up his marriage.

Scherer, making his fifth appearance at the Public, has yet to find a comfortable balance between Felix’s high-strung histrionics and his more sympathetic, vulnerable side.

Emily Bowers and Meredith Zinner play the Pigeon sisters, Gwendolyn and Cecily, with an overload of energy and screechy double- entendre enthusiasm.

Some of the evening’s best moments occur as Oscar and his poker buddies, deal, bid and banter.

Doug Mertz, Eric Leviton, Randy Kovitz and Ken Bolden make the most of those scenes embellishing with singular details the distinct and diverse characters Simon supplied.

Once a staple of community and summer theaters, “The Odd Couple” is now seldom seen.

For those who have never seen this classic example of Simon’s comedic talent or want to see a textbook example of the well- crafted American comedy this production showcases it in the best possible light.

(c) 2008 Tribune-Review/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.