By Scott Schultz
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
[email protected]
It’s difficult to go wrong with Neil Simon’s
tried-and-true comedy “The Odd Couple.” Playing at the
Geffen Playhouse, “Oscar and Felix, A New Look at The Odd
Couple” is an enjoyable update that doesn’t stray too
far from the original.
The story is about two divorced middle-aged men in New York
City, who share an apartment in order to save money for alimony.
However, they quickly discover that the personality flaws that
annoyed their wives are equally irritating to each other.
The original production has been redone a multitude of times,
and the storyline has been tweaked over the years to become
“The Black Odd Couple,” “The Female Odd
Couple,” as well as a cartoon in the late ’70s with a
neat cat and a messy dog. And it’s highly likely that in a
thousand years theater audiences will be treated to “The
Alien Odd Couple.”
The only noticeable changes in this updated version of the 1965
Broadway smash hit are insignificant. The phone is now a cell
phone. The typewriter is a laptop. There is an autographed Mike
Piazza jersey on the wall. There were references to Al Gore and the
History Channel. The story, however, remains true to Simon’s
classic.
As long as Simon is penning the jokes, the laughter overcomes
over-familiarity with the material. Simon, who is arguably the most
successful modern American comedic playwright, gives the audience
more belly laughs than a year’s worth of NBC programming. A
solid five or six funny jokes per minute keeps the crowd
rolling.
The show has the pace and feel of a television sitcom, except
that it is funny.
The feel of the show is logical, since the cast is centered on
sitcom veterans, John Larroquette of “Night Court” and
Joe Regalbuto of “Murphy Brown” as Oscar and Felix.
Their sitcom backgrounds have them successfully hitting all the
punchlines with expert timing. Helping matters is director Peter
Bonerz, who is a director of hundreds of classic television
comedies including “Murphy Brown” and
“Friends.”
The Geffen’s traditional brick proscenium gives the stage
an authentic New York feel. The play takes place entirely in the
apartment of slovenly sportswriter Oscar Madison. This sparse set
allows the action and jokes to tell the story. Madison’s room
in the beginning looks like a messy student apartment, but after
the obsessive neat freak Felix moves in, the bachelor pad becomes
cleaner than a hospital, much to Oscar’s distress.
The British Pigeon Sisters have been replaced with the Spanish
Costazuelas Sisters as the women living in the apartment upstairs,
who the horny Oscar wants to seduce. But the prissy, self-obsessed
Felix keeps ruining Oscar’s best-laid plans. The sisters,
played by Maria Conchita Alonso (“Kiss of the
Spiderwoman”) and Alex Meneses, are hilarious and sexy as
they fuddle the English language with their Spanish accents. When
Felix asks the sisters ““ one a divorcee, the other a widow
““ if they left children in their native Spain, they say
“Si, there are millions of children in Spain.”
Oscar’s and Felix’s poker buddies still play a
prominent role in the production as changes in the
apartment’s atmosphere over the course of two weeks is
demonstrated in the weekly games. For example, the food served at
the games changes. Sandwiches described as “brown or
green” are replaced by sandwiches that have fancy
mustard.
The one real flaw with the production is that even though both
Larroquette and Regalbuto give terrific comedic performances, their
chemistry seems forced. This could be due to the director’s
decision to focus more on the two distinct personalities, while
relying on the audience’s familiarity with their friendship
to create a bond.
However, the flaws are minimal, and there are many laughs to be
had by attending this production. And the opportunity to see
Larroquette, one of TV’s funniest actors, in an intimate
setting is well worth the cost of admission for this classic comedy
that clearly holds up against the test of time.
“Oscar and Felix” is playing until July 27, Tuesday
through Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 4 and
8:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m. Ticket prices range from
$34-$46. Student rush tickets are available one hour prior to
performances with a valid student ID.