Touchstone themes for the Georgetown Palace Theatre are "fun" and "familiar." Probably the most affectionately remembered piece of Neil Simon's 40-year career, The Odd Couple fits both themes exactly.
Slobby Oscar Madison and meticulous Felix Ungar are seated firmly in the American consciousness. Simon's play opened on Broadway in 1965 and appeared as a film in 1968. It ran for five years as a television show, 1970-1975. ABC cancelled it at the end of every season but then brought it back because of the high Nielsen ratings for the summer reruns. Simon rewrote the play for a female cast in 1985 and in 2004 he produced an updated version, Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple.
The Georgetown version is the original script, set in the mid-60s. You can tell that immediately when the guys talk about prices. A New York cab ride is $1.30. A pack of cigarettes is 38 cents. The butcher's bill for London broil for four persons is $9.64. And Felix's half of the monthly rent for the eight-room apartment in metropolitan New York City is $120 (rent-controlled, for sure, but still!).
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Emily? Isn't it Gwendolyn?
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it. I haven't seen it yet, but I expect to have a good laugh...
Ronnie, thanks, I'll take your ID. I've changed it to the OTHER cute Pigeon. MM
ReplyDeleteThey are Cecily and Gwendolyn as a sort of send-up of the characters by those names in "The Importance of Being Ernest."
ReplyDeleteBTW, I got permission from my boss to let you (and your readers) know that (a) we costumed "The Odd couple," and (b) we had nothing to do with that hat, and with some other costume choices that were made without us.
Also, may I use a couple of your photos? I'm planning a blog entry of my own about the exigencies of costuming community theater.
Some bad person has stolen my camera from a birthday party at a park, so I'm kind of beached, picture-wise, for a while...
Ronnie, You can post your comments at the .com site, as well, and you are cordially invited to use anything displayed on line. Joe Penrod kindly arranged for someone to provide digital photos of the performance; I picked them up at the box office. Photos are displayed at austinlivetheatre.com; page link is
ReplyDeletehttp://austinlivetheatre.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=450:the-odd-couple-georgetown-palace-theatre-june-12-july-5&catid=86:georgetown-palace-theatre&Itemid=103