The La Crosse Community Theatre is bringing you an American Classic

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – On March 10^th, 1965, Walter Matthau and Art Carney took to the stage of the Plymouth Theatre in the Broadway premiere of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple. On March 14th, 2023, Steven Walker and Jeremiah Galvan will take to the stage of The Lyche Theater at La Crosse’s Weber Center as the La Crosse Community Theatre (LCT) continues the long and storied history of Simon’s only Tony win. The play, for the few of us unfamiliar with the text, is the story of two divorced men, who have very little in common, and who decide to cohabitate. The decision leads to disastrous results which, in turn, leads to hijinks and hilarity.

The Odd Couple was wildly successful, running for two years and 964 performances in that first Broadway run. Between 1962 and today it has seen dozens of notable revivals. Martin Short and Eugene Levy have played Felix and Oscar in a Canadian version, Gerard Kelly and Craig Ferguson in a Scottish version, Bill Bailey and Alan Davies in a British version, Ethan Hawke and Billy Crudup in a Hollywood version, Joe Moore and (his Vietnam roommate) Pat Sajak in a benefit version, Joe Regalbuto and John Larroquette in Simon-penned updated version, Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane in the latest Broadway revival, and, yes, Sally Struthers and Rita Moreno (as Florence and Olive respectively) in the, also Simon-penned, female version.

In 1968 it was turned into a feature-length film with Matthau playing Madison and Jack Lemmon getting the role of Felix. Jack Klugman (who replaced Matthau in the first Broadway run) would play Oscar in the television version, opposite Tony Randall as Felix, when it started airing in 1970. 1975 would bring The Oddball Couple, a cartoon version of the play featuring a dog named Fleabag and a cat named Spiffy. In 1983, TV would see an African American version called The New Odd Couple with Ron Glass, as Felix, and Demond Wilson, as Oscar. In 2015 we got another TV revival with Matthew Perry playing Oscar and Thomas Lennon taking on Felix.

The play is, legitimately, an American Classic. It is the source material for every screwball, slapstick comedy about two people forced to be with one another. 48 Hours, Stepbrothers, Jake and The Fat Man; all of them, it could be argued, are because of The Odd Couple. Chandler and Joey, Jake Peralta and Captain Holt, Dean and Sam Winchester and so many more unlikely duos have Oscar and Felix… and more importantly, Neil Simon… to thank for their origins.

The Odd Couple dives into gender roles and the complexities of what we are supposed to be versus what we want to be. It dives into overt neediness and self-awareness. It tackles friendship and loving each other despite the things that drive us batty about one another. It deals with many things that human beings face every single day… and it does it with humor, lightness and relatability.

The LCT version of this legitimate American Classic opens March 14^th and runs for two weekends with matinees on Sunday. If you’re looking to explore the human experience and discover the commonality of frustration and fear… or, if you want to laugh your pants off and go on a wild ride with two people who have no idea what they are getting themselves into… tickets are on sale now.

The Odd Couple

• Felix Ungar – Jeremiah Galvan

• Oscar Madison – Steven Walker

• Murray – Peter Schreier

• Vinnie – Jacob Leis

• Roy – Josh Zabel

• Speed – Scott Vehrenkamp

• Cecily Pigeon – Nickale Beltran

• Gwendolyn Pigeon – Katie Fries

Directed by William Garcia
Stage Managed by James Murphy

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