Comic classic: Raven revives timeless 'Odd Couple'
Not everything needs updating. Classic albums don't need to be augmented with newly "discovered" tracks and classic comedies don't need to be contemporized to remain entertaining.
Case in point: "The Odd Couple" Neil Simon's 1965 comedy about a couple of middle-aged, newly divorced men sharing a New York City apartment. Simon has revised the play several times, first in 1985 to accommodate a female cast and again in 2004 to incorporate contemporary references. But none have matched the success of the original Broadway hit which remains firmly entrenched within the 1960s context and which spawned the winning 1968 film starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon as well as the popular 1970s TV series with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall.
Yet "The Odd Couple" - which ranks among Simon's best - has an ageless quality. The sustained laughter that accompanied director Michael Menendian's highly entertaining revival for Raven Theatre reflected as much.
The fact that the play continues to delight audiences 45 years after its premiere reflects not just its droll writing and endearing caricatures - mismatched roommates Oscar and Felix, their assorted poker buddies and a couple of comely British birds - but from the message that underscores the play, which is the enduring power of friendship, in all its exasperating glory.
Oscar and Felix may bicker. Their buddies may insult each other as tempers flare during the group's weekly poker game. But look beyond the deadpan zingers and jibes (skillfully dispatched by Menendian's talented octet) and it is clear that these men really care for each other.
It's apparent when Felix (triple-threat Jon Steinhagen), depressed after his 12-year marriage collapses, turns up for the weekly poker game hosted by good friend Oscar (Eric Roach), who invites his fussbudget pal to move in, eccentricities and all.
Their domestic bliss gradually deteriorates, finally reaching the breaking point following a disastrous - albeit funny - double date with the Pigeon sisters, a giggling duo played by the terrific Brigitte Ditmars and Liz Fletcher in one of the show's most deliciously comic scenes.
Yes, "The Odd Couple" shows its age, but in a gentlemanly fashion. Certainly the novelty of men performing household duties has faded and any homoerotic subtext appears tame by today's standards. But there's no denying the show's appeal or that of Menendian's fast, funny production and his gung-ho cast.
Roach plays sports writer Oscar - the hospitable slob and inveterate gambler - with the affability (and the appetites) of an aging college fraternity boy. As Felix - the compulsive cleaner whose ailments would fill a medical dictionary - Steinhagen manages to be endearing and insufferable at the same time. Their exchanges occasionally felt a bit halting, as if they haven't quite nailed down the rhythm. But I expect they'll work it out. And let's face it: Matthau and Lemmon and Klugman and Randall cast long shadows.
But Roach and Steinhagen have moxie. What's more they've got a first-rate supporting cast which includes Anthony Tournis' kinetic, very funny turn as the acerbic Speed; Des Plaines resident Greg Caldwell's wry accountant Roy; Larry Carani's kindly cop Murray and the easygoing Vinnie, played by Greg Kolack who directed the play at Oak Brook's Drury Lane Theatre three years ago.
As the play concludes with the roomies annulling their convenient "marriage," Oscar asks Felix if he'll be at the poker game the next week. Felix assures him he will.
"Marriages may come and go," he says, "but the game must go on."
Substitute "friendship" for "game" and you've got the essence of "The Odd Couple" and the reason it remains relevant after all these years.
<p class="News">"The Odd Couple"</p>
<p class="News">★★★</p>
<p class="News"><b>Location:</b> Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago, (773) 338-2177 or <a href="http://raventheatre.com" target="new">raventheatre.com</a></p>
<p class="News"><b>Showtimes:</b> 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday through July 18. No performance July 4.</p>
<p class="News"><b>Running time:</b> About two hours with intermission</p>
<p class="News"><b>Tickets: </b>$25, $30 </p>
<p class="News"><b>Parking:</b> Limited parking in lot adjacent to theater; metered street parking nearby</p>
<p class="News"><b>Rating:</b> For teens and older, some mature content</p>