The problem with success is that it's hard to follow, and that's precisely the trouble with the Walnut Street Theatre's current production of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, playing through April 27th (walnutstreettheatre.org). The Odd Couple is a play that comes with a lot of baggage. I saw a production of it years ago in the female version, and this seems to be the only way to avoid the audience expectations. When parts are as closely identified with actors as Oscar and Felix are with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, no other actors will ever be truly satisfying.It's a shame for Avi Hoffman (Oscar) and Gary Marachek (Felix), too, because they do their best to fill the very large shoes. Hoffman, especially, is very believable, while Marachek at times borders on caricature. Incidentally, I saw the two of them on the street the other day, and they seem to just wear their own clothes as costumes. I felt like I was transported from 2008 Philadelphia into 1960s New York.
The English sisters in the play, played by Madi Distefano and Leah Walton, have far fewer audience expectations to contend with, and consequently steal the show. They play the absurdity of the feather-brained British floosies to a tee, and garner more laughs than any of the men on stage.
Unfortunately, despite the actors' best efforts, this Odd Couple disappoints both older and younger audience members. The older audience members want Lemmon and Matthau. The younger audience members (me among them) are put off by the 60s-era sexism present in the show. The Walnut's production proves that it's too soon for a modern version of this play to become a vintage revival - it just seems dated.
Now a plug for another current performance: Ballet X's Rite to Spring is playing now through Sunday at the Wilma Theater. I was thoroughly impressed with their innovative performance in the fall, so I'm psyched to see Matthew Neenan's new piece this weekend. Anyone who's interested in dance should not miss this show. The music for it was composed by indie band Lake Trout's Matthew Pierce, and he'll be playing onstage with other members of the band. I'll be posting a full review this weekend.
