Going with original 'Odd Couple'
Is there a compelling cultural reason for Drury Lane Oak Brook to be dusting off Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple" yet again? Or is it just fun revisiting the classic battle between an obsessive-compulsive neat freak and the most slovenly of slobs?
Drury Lane Oak Brook answers a definite yes to the latter question, delivering a respectably safe and solid revival. Yet one wonders if more could have been made of "The Odd Couple" in relation to today.
This decade has seen the rise and fall of fad metrosexual TV makeover shows like "Queer Eye," plus the divisive political debate over same-sex marriage. Could "The Odd Couple's" jokes about two men living and fighting together like a married couple shed any contemporary insight?
By choosing to do Simon's original 1965 three-act chestnut instead of Simon's 1985 female revision or his 2002 updating, Drury Lane is saying "not really." But who can blame them?
It's hard to beat Simon's 1965 Broadway comedy. Even with Simon's direct involvement updating "The Odd Couple" to reflect societal changes, they pale against the original.
Besides, there isn't much new to inject in the first "Odd Couple," so let's be happy that director Greg Kolack's talented cast and crew make the most out of the old comic standby.
With a pot belly and very natural "Nuoo Yarwk" accent, Norm Boucher makes for a great slob sports writer in Oscar Madison. Dan Rodden's ramrod-rigid Felix Ungar takes a bit more time to warm to, but he never unconvincingly exaggerates his walking agglomeration of allergies, self-pity and tidiness.
As Oscar's working-class poker buddies, David Kortemeier, Dev Kennedy, Brooks Darrah and Mark Czoske each fit in like comic clockwork. And as the giddy British Pigeon sisters, Carrie Lee Patterson and Elizabeth Ledo offer loads of accented fun in Elizabeth P. Wislar's swinging '60s outfits.
Clearly the folks at Drury Lane prefer a safe warhorse to something warmed over and passed off as new. After all, the 2002 "Odd Couple" updating features current technology like cell phones. Now who really wants those going off in the theater today?
"The Odd Couple"
2 ½ stars
out of four
Location: Drury Lane Oak Brook, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace
Times: 1:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p.m. Thursday, 8:30 p.m. Friday, 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; through Oct. 7
Running time: 2½ hours with two intermissions
Parking: Ample lots
Tickets: $25-$50
Box office: (630) 530-0111
Rating: Fairly safe, though some might be offended when Lord's name is taken in vain