He’s a neat freak who never leaves a speck of dust out of place. His buddy is the stuff of barroom legends, a slob of a sportswriter who never eats a potato chip that’s not two weeks stale.
And somehow, the two have to find a way to cohabitate – without ripping each other’s heads off – in Neil Simon’s classic “The Odd Couple,” opening this weekend at Marathon Community Theatre.
The uptight Felix Ungar (Lee Lawson) is a near-suicidal trainwreck after being thrown out by his wife Frances, landing on the New York City doorstep of his friend Oscar Madison (Steve Miller) – a carefree, gambling-addicted reporter and host of the weekly poker game.
A friendly offer by Oscar to rent Felix a room while the latter gets back on his feet soon turns sour. Felix’s rigid, high-strung habits force Oscar to the brink of insanity – even as fellow poker players Speed (Dion Watson), Murray (Nando Bonilla), Vinnie (Gerrit Hale) and Roy (Bob Mizell) enjoy sandwiches served without a side of mold.
Throw in a disaster of a would-be double date with their upstairs neighbors the Pigeon sisters Cecily (Nancy Myers) and Gwendolyn (Grace Hubbard), and Oscar is left to wonder if Felix’s perpetually-running vacuum has sucked up the last of his sanity.
Cards and a cloud of cigar smoke serve as the backdrop for bubbling tensions between the “couple” – so with four of the eight cast members stepping foot on the MCT stage for the first time, a genuine camaraderie and flowing smack-talk were essential. So much so, said directors Linda Schaefer and Karen Shotwell, that the cast scrubbed traditional theater warm-up games in favor of a more personal approach before rehearsals.
Photos by ALEX RICKERT/Keys Weekly
“What we transitioned to is, while they were getting dressed, to give each other s*** for 10 minutes in character,” she said.
“In the first scene, it’s probably 30% unscripted,” said Watson.
The “Odd Couple” role is a near-reprisal for Miller, who last starred as the beer-guzzling, glory-days-reliving TJ in 2024’s “Beer for Breakfast.” For Lawson, who stepped on stage in a golden speedo in October for the raucous “Rocky Horror Show” – not so much.
“In Rocky, I had to just get out of the way and let (co-star) Anthony (Kehn) do his thing,” he laughed. “This, I had to do a lot more work. But what’s been different was Linda and Karen’s ability to have a healthy push and pull. They didn’t stifle the creativeness, and they never once made me feel like I wasn’t up to the bar.”
“For my character, every time I come up here I have to take off my pants,” joked Miller. “What the hell is it with you people in Marathon that I have to take off my pants?”
“The Odd Couple” runs on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. from Jan. 8-31, with 3 p.m. matinees on Jan. 18 and 25. Tickets are $33, available at marathontheater.org or by calling 305-743-0994.
