Matthew J. Palm: “Odd Couple” offers depth — twice.
The familiar riff of Cyndi Lauper’s 1980s pop hit “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” opens performances of the female version of “The Odd Couple” at Garden Theatre — and the women onstage look like they are enjoying themselves immensely.
At a recent matinee, the audience was having a ball, too. That’s to be expected in a production with actors this intelligent who land laugh after laugh.
The Garden is producing in repertory both the female and male versions of Neil Simon’s comedy about mismatched roommates. The male version, featuring Felix and Oscar, debuted on Broadway in 1965. (At the Garden, I caught the guys at a dress rehearsal.) Twenty years later, Simon wrote an adaptation of the story with the lead characters changed to Florence and Olive.
It’s easy (and common) to portray these characters as almost one-note stereotypes: Felix or Florence is the obsessive neatnik, while Oscar or Olive is the fasttalking slob. But Katrina Ploof, directing the male version, and Keith Smith, directing the female version, don’t take that easy way out. Their actors create compelling, layered characters — real humans — who underneath their foibles are in some way disconnected from those around them and lonely for meaningful connection.
It’s an undercurrent of sadness that not only makes the comedy more potent, but resonates in our fragmented world where electronic “likes” have replaced human interaction.
The four leading actors prove why their names are widely known among Central Florida theatergoers.
Mark Ferrera’s Oscar has the breezy insouciance of a man not used to facing his feelings, while at times Stephen Lima’s Felix seems almost paralyzed with grief over the loss of his beloved wife.
Peg O’Keef and Marty Stonerock, as Florence and Olive, are equally at ease with physical comedy or wringing every last laugh out of a line.
Just watch as O’Keef ’s prim Florence checks her lipstick in her reflection from a soup ladle. Or listen to Stonerock lustily sink her teeth into Olive’s plans for date night: “It’s about fighting for a woman’s honor… and making sure we lose!”
Supporting players are darn funny, too — especially Thomas Muniz and Brandon Lopez as a pair of sweet Spaniards in the female version.
“The Odd Couple” is a pretty safe bet for pulling in audiences. But artistically it takes a kind of bravery to tackle a show so many have done before. These Garden productions show that old chestnuts can have new life in them. Bravo — times two.