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NY Theater: "The Odd Couple" is comic but dated stage sitcomBachelor roommates show why their wives threw them outBy Lucy Komisar
The anti-heroes are two men in their 40s whose wives have split because they find them impossible. One man is a slob who by his own admission gambles, drinks and lies; the other is a control and order freak who insisted his wife write down every household expenditure and cleaned the house after the maid.
Nobody's real. As director Joe Mantello sees them, they are caricatures, viz. the cartoonishly tall Murray, whose advice about a possibly suicidal friend is, "Take his belt and shoe laces." But the exaggerations hit the edge of reality, which is why you laugh. This play keeps getting revived, because its absurd comedy is based on real life.
A highlight is the visit of two giggly British sisters, Gwendolyn (Olivia d'Abo) and Cecily (Jessica Stone), both good as quirky sophisticates who are more open-minded and generous than either of the men. That could be the real lesson in this play about men and divorce. An odd moment occurs when Felix informs them that he writes the news for CBS – probably the most unlikely revelation of anything in the play. When Gwendolyn asks, "Where do you get your ideas from?" there's long, knowing laughter from the audience. If the joke was on Gwendolyn when Simon wrote the play, it's now on the media, whose credibility has tanked. The actors do professional jobs, though none of the performances are memorable. The touted Lane-Broderick combination does not set off sparks. The one-liners are clever, but the shticks and slapstick are obvious, as in any sitcom. There is no comic depth. Not hard to see why the series based on the premise was a hit on TV. "The Odd Couple." Written by Neil Simon. Directed by Joe Mantello. Starring Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Rob Bartlett, Peter Frechette, Olivia d'Abo, Mike Starr, Jessica Stone, Lee Wilkof. (Mike Starr replaced Brad Garrett as Murray the Cop). Brooks Atkinson Theatre. 256 West 47 St. Tue-Sat 8pm; Wed & Sat 2pm; Sun 3pm. Through June 4, 2006. Running time: 2:05. $60-$100. 212-307-4100. by Carol Rosegg. |
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TM
"The
Odd Couple" seems dated. It played for years on TV after its success on Broadway
in 1965 and as a film in 1968, and it probably should have stayed there. One
laughs at the quips and comic bits. Still, this stage sitcom is a bit like a
Chinese meal. An hour later it's out of your mind, and you're still hungry for
theater.
We
are in the wonderfully smoky messy high-ceilinged apartment (designed by John
Lee Beatty) of Oscar Madison (Nathan Lane), a sports writer, who is behind in
alimony to Blanche in California and tries to win it back in the boys' Friday
night poker game. His card playing buddies include Murray the cop (Brad
Garrett), Vinnie (Lee Wilkof) who is always off on a weekend trip with his wife
to someplace exotic like Florida or Atlantic City, Roy the fey accountant (Peter
Freschette), cigar-chomping Speed (Rob Bartlett), and the pièce de résistance,
Felix Ungar (Matthew Broderick).
The
odd man out is Felix, who is so impossible that he was thrown out by his
marriage counselor. His wife also wants out. So he and Oscar decide to "bach it"
together in Oscar's Upper West side apartment. Eight rooms are not big enough
for both of them. Felix's slightly edgy voice, almost tentative but insistent,
grates on the surface of Oscar's good nature. It's easy to see why Felix drove
Frances crazy. Or why Oscar's wife Blanche bailed out for California. They are
turning into each other's spouses. And what broke up their marriages is about to
break up the bachelor pad.
