The Lamplighter’s Community Theatre in La Mesa is hosting performances of Neil Simon’s iconic play “The Odd Couple” on weekends from July 5 to July 28 on their popular intimate stage. But there is a twist… this is the female adaptation that Simon rewrote in 1985. The story stays true to the Oscar and Felix version of the play, but is skewed to reflect the feminine side of comedy. This rewrite sees the lead characters transformed into Olive Madison and Florence Unger. The story begins as Olive and her group of girlfriends are enjoying their weekly Trivial Pursuit night in Olive’s messy and ill-equipped apartment. As the game continues, Florence arrives, fresh from being dumped by her husband. Fearful that the neurotic Florence might attempt suicide, Olive invites Florence to move in with her as a roommate. However, Olive and Florence have very different personalities. While Olive is messy, untidy, and unconcerned about the state of her apartment, Florence is obsessively clean, tidy, and obsessed with hygiene. Olive’s easy-going outlook on life soon clashes with Florence’s highly-strung neurotic tendencies, testing their friendship to the limit. When Olive organizes a double date with the Consuelo brothers, their differences come to a head and the sparks fly!
Erin Grayce plays the role of Olive Madison and has actually played the role before with a different troupe in Montana. “I am Olive, which is the Oscar part – so I’m the slob!” Grayce offered with a chuckle. “She’s a news producer and she seems meticulous at work, but you wouldn’t say that if you saw the way she is in her apartment. She just doesn’t care about newspapers or clothes laying around – she comes in a just takes things off as she’s going to her bedroom. For her, it’s not a big deal, and then when she asks her friend to move in with her – Florence, who is the neat one – then Florence kind of takes over and makes everything a little too much for Olive. She’s a pill!”
Diane Jones is the director of the production and has made a living in theater for years. But she also volunteers her time for one show a year, and this year it is The Odd Couple. “It’s a female version of the Neil Simon play and it’s hilarious!” Jones said.
“Pam Stomply – the artistic director at Lamplighter – offered it to me and I was a little hesitant at first, but I told her ‘Let me read the script.’ And when I did – Neil Simon had done such an incredible job that I was laughing out loud just reading it! Because there are jokes that men can deliver and they’re funny. But if a woman delivers it, then maybe it’s not. And so he really changed it to where there are jokes that women would be saying, but he kept the same humor.”
She noted that she had fun auditioning the parts because sometimes she employs a somewhat unorthodox way of assigning the roles. “Sometimes the actor will think they are auditioning for the messy one, but I see their capability differently. So, I cast them opposite of what they think! And I’ve really been blessed, I have eight powerhouse actors – six women and two men – and the two men are the Conseulo brothers where in the original, their characters are two British sisters. But these two guys love to try to get the girls to break with their jokes, and that’s the edge that I want as a director. I want it to where that humor is just so tight that you have a hard time playing it against them. So it’s just a great play, I’ve had a lot of fun doing it and the actors have too!”
Jones added that community theater is so important because it is a place where up and coming actors can hone their craft, and also retiring folks can still ply their craft without having to travel.
“I think people come to the theater to escape, and we like to transport you to a different place or a different time. And this piece transports you to 1985 and allows you to forget the rest of the world and just laugh!” Simon’s humor is timeless, this was written in 1985 starring Rita Moreno and Sally Struthers and the humor still stands! I mean, there’s not anything that is stale. You wouldn’t know it was set in 1985 if we weren’t using a landline phone!”
www.LampLightersLaMesa.com
