Renee RosenowA dirty apartment and a messy roommate is every uptight, neat-freak’s worst nightmare. Yet, it is Felix Ungar’s reality in the Fanny Hill Dinner Theatre’s version of “The Odd Couple.” Starting last week, the Fanny Hill Dinner Theatre, 3919 Crescent Ave., is performing the classic Neil Simon play.
“The Odd Couple” is about two mismatched roommates. Felix Ungar is an uptight, neat and tidy reporter. Oscar Madison is a sloppy and disheveled sportswriter. Oscar is recently divorced and now lives in an apartment that is growing dirtier and messier by the day. Felix just found out that his wife of 12 years wants a divorce, completely devastating him and leaving him with nowhere to live. Felix decides to move in with his friend Oscar even though it’s clear that the two have completely different living habits.
“This is a classic American comedy, the play was so good, they made it into the movie and the movie was so good they made it into a long running television series,” said Don Hodgins, theater director of Fanny Hill.
“The Odd Couple” premiered on Broadway in 1965 and was turned into a movie in 1968 starring Walter Matthau as Oscar and Jack Lemmon as Felix. In 1970, the play was turned into a popular television series starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall.
As for the audience, Hodgins is confident everyone will love it.
“This is the third time we have done ‘The Odd Couple,'” he said. “It’s the classic battle of a slob vs. a neat freak; (it) reminds me of my college days actually. ‘The Odd Couple’ demonstrates universal themes. Simon writes about everyday people and finds humor in everything, so everyone can relate.”
For anyone who doesn’t like plays, Hodgins thinks they should give this one a chance. “This is the perfect show,” Hodgins said. “It’s a comfortable, relatable play.”
Fanny Hill, audience members have the opportunity to watch the show and have breakfast, lunch or dinner.
“You can go out for a night on the town here or even attend a Sunday brunch, get a great meal and watch a funny play,” Hodgins said. “It’s especially great if you want to impress someone.”
Besides being the playwright of “The Odd Couple,” Simon wrote many other classic American plays including, “Barefoot in the Park,” “The Goodbye Girl” and “Sweet Charity.” Simon won a best author Tony in 1965 for “The Odd Couple,” and went on to become one of the most famous American playwrights.
Celebrating its 30th season this year, Fanny Hill has gone back to its roots. Its first production in 1978 was Simon’s “Last of the Red Hot Lovers.” For its anniversary, they decided it would only be fitting to do another play again. And now with “The Odd Couple,” it’s continuing the tradition of producing Simon classics.
“The Odd Couple” runs through Nov. 2. Evening performances start at 8 p.m. with dinner beginning at 5:45 p.m. Matinee performances start at 1pm with a meal served at noon. For more information about ticket prices and show times, visit their Web site at www.fannyhill.com.
