THE ODD COUPLE @ NORTH PARK VAUDEVILLE

The Odd Couple (Female Version): Staged at North Park Vaudeville Words By Kristen Fogle

The original “The Odd Couple,” by Neil Simon, is widely known not only because of the 1965 Broadway play but for its successful film and TV adaptations. And in 1985, “The Odd Couple” was redesigned for a female cast. The play features the same mismatched roommates, now called Florence Unger and Olive Madison, and in lieu of a poker game, the women play Trivial Pursuit with their friends Mickie, Sylvie, Vera, and Renee. The Pigeon sisters (from the male version) became the Costazuela brothers, Manolo and Jesus. “The Female Odd Couple” opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on June 11, 1985 and ran for 295 performances and nine previews. The cast starred Sally_Struthers and Rita Moreno as Florence (Felix) and Olive(Oscar).

North Park Vaudeville (NPV), which does only one royalty show per year, took up the task of delivering Florence and Olive to San Diego audiences. The 35 seat playhouse doesn’t allow for an extensive set on its smallish stage, but the director managed to scale back the original three room set to one, making due without the audience knowing otherwise. (The transformation from sloppy sty to lovely living quarters from scene one to two is quite impressive.) Clean freak, hypochondriac Florence is played capably by Summer Golden (who owns NPV with director Jeff Bushnell), and messy Olive’s witty one liners are tackled with panache by Loie Gail. Each of the girlfriends (Christine McCoy, Jennifer Berry, Peggy Daly, and Lynda Bell) add a dash of humor during their well choreographed games (and sport cute costumes that give each character their own flair). The Spanish suitors bumble through the English language and keep us cackling—Manolo is played by Ary Hernandez, Jesus by Haig Koshkarian.

Take a trip to Vaudeville (quite possibly SD’s tiniest theater) for quaint productions and its charming appeal. Next up is the tenth year of the North Park Playwright Festival which runs October 5-28^th (Fri/Sat nights, Sun matinee)with a different program running each weekend (a total of 24-26 new works being presented). For details, please visit the NPV website.

North Park Vaudeville and Candy Shoppe
2031 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92104
www.northparkvaudeville.com