Stop the presses! Hold the phone! We have a hit on our hands. Opening night of BTG’s “The Odd Couple” Friday was a smash and opened to a full house. It was 1965 when Neil Simon’s most enduring and also endearing play first opened on Broadway at the Plymouth Theater. Can just imagine critics running to the pay phones to get their reviews in time for the next morning’s papers. The play ran for 964 performances and received four Tony Awards, including for Simon (in “best author”) and Mike Nichols for “direction.” Benicia Theater Group’s production would have made Simon proud.
I knew that he was a genius but hadn’t realized the extent of this playwright’s wit until Benicia’s cast starring Kyle Nash as Oscar, the affable sportscaster, and Felix played by Matt Cardigan-Smith and a skilled cast of poker buddies brought the story to life. There were so many hilarious and clever lines that I lost track. Vowed then and there to get a book of Simon’s plays.
The entire play takes place in the living room of the 8-room NYC apartment on Riverside Drive that Oscar and his wife lived in before she left him because of his slovenly ways. He has trashed the well-decorated apartment on the 12th floor, painted and papered in shades of pink with velveteen couch and wing chair. When we are see the room in the first scene it is strewn with Oscar’s dirty shirts and jackets, old newspapers, dirty ashtrays, and old plates of food. Photos of baseball players line one wall while the bookcase is filled with a football, a basketball, and other sports paraphernalia. Can you imagine what an eight room apartment — especially one with a view of the City — would go for today in Manhattan?
Kyle Nash, writer, voice-over artist and educator, plays Oscar Madison, the lovable slob with a heart of gold. He carries the show reciting non-stop dialogue without missing a beat. Dressed in a loud sports shirt, a backwards baseball cap, and chomping on a cigar, Nash’s Oscar is at once irritating and endearing.
We were able to catch him after the show. “I hadn’t realized that Neil Simon was such a genius. Every line was pitch perfect,” I told him. ”In my opinion, I think Simon ranks up there with Shakespeare,” he said. “How do you memorize all of that dense dialogue?” I asked. “Years of doing this,” he modestly replied. “Which of Simon’s plays would be your first choice to read?” I asked. He paused and said “Rumors” which I wasn’t familiar with but will check out.
We learn a lot about Felix, played poignantly by Matt Cardigan-Smith, even before he enters the stage. A gentle but neurotic, neat freak who is never without a feather duster is late to the poker game. The poker buddies begin to worry and then go into full panic mode when they learn from a phone call that Felix’s wife has kicked him out. By the time he arrives at Oscar’s, he is a pathetic mess and fixates on the open window.
Four poker playing buddies — Murray, Speed, Vinnie, and Roy are perpetually camped out at Oscar’s dining room table, talking trash and trying to concentrate on the game while Felix chides them about dirty ashtrays and crumbs on the carpet.
Murray, a policeman wearing his full summer uniform is played by Joe Walters who studied and acted in NYC before returning to the Bay Area. He skillfully plays the part of a slow thinking, big-hearted cop, who struggles to contain his emotive nature.
Speed, a guy from the streets, is convincingly played by Shailesh Sivanantham, full of sarcasm and pointed barbs delivered with a NYC Bronx tough-guy accent. We saw him after the play. “Loved your Brooklyn accent,” I said, not sure if I had the correct borough. “Oh … maybe you just talk that way?” I said fearing that he really did. “Are you kidding, I grew up in San Jose,” he said.
Mark Shepard, a seasoned performer, sensitively portrays Vinnie, mild mannered and easily manipulated by the others. While Oscar and Speed are griping about Felix’s prissy ways, Vinnie appreciates Felix’s crustless cucumber sandwiches, commenting on the subtle use of arugula, or whatever green was in vogue at the time, and thanking him for the linen napkin and coaster for his beer.
Kim TaeJun plays Oscar’s accountant, a big burly guy who is the grown-up at the table. His frequent eye rolls and resigned body language is hilarious to watch as he quietly reacts to his poker buddies frantic antics without saying a word. Wasn’t surprised to read in the program that TaeJun is also a standup comic.
The glamorous Pigeon sisters from an upstairs apartment make quite an entrance as they arrive for a double date arranged by Oscar who is starved for female companionship and hopes to distract Felix from his impending divorce. The sisters are all giggles and ready to party as Oscar escorts them in and Felix tries to hide behind a chair.
Cecily Pigeon, played by Ashley Jay, is a divorcee dressed in a form fitting red mini dress sharing double entendres with her equally giggly sister Gwendolyn, a widow played provocatively by Maya Via.
During the intermission I wandered back to the bar where the bartenders were mixing this season’s speciality drink— the Paradox — a whiskey sour concoction representing sweet (Felix) and sour (Oscar). Whiskey mixed cocktails were popular at the time but straight whiskey seemed to be Oscar’s drink of choice as he would periodically pour himself a shot from his home bar next to the poker table.
BTG Vice Chair Kelsey Bye, dressed in a red sequined gown, opened the evening by introducing the play’s Director Adria Swan. Born and raised in Benicia, Swan has performed throughout the U.S, is a longtime BTG actor and vocalist, and more recently has choreographed Benicia High School musicals.
Celebrating the Theater Group’s 60th anniversary, Bye thanked the Board and At-Large Members for keeping them viable, especially during the difficult Covid years. She gave a special shout out to Brian Hough. “He held us together,” she said.
BTG President Victoria Pearce was presented with a framed Assembly Resolution introduced by Benicia Assembly Member Lori Wilson commemorating the special anniversary.
Tryouts for the spring 2025 play “Bamboozled” — an all female cast — will be held Saturday, November 2, 2024, from 12 – 3 pm. beniciatheatregroup.org. The Couple closes November 10.
Break a leg!
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Letters From Benicia 