author: Chris Pence

Stuck in the Middle With You: The Odd Couple at Bowie Community Theatre

Some things never change, like the frustration and camaraderie of having roommates, especially those that drive us crazier than a worm in a bowl of spaghetti (IT’S LINGUINI!!!). Neil Simon’s classic buddy comedy, The Odd Couple, screams its way onto the Bowie Community Theatre stage with hilarious consequence.

Perhaps Simon’s most well-known play, The Odd Couple premiered in 1965, following Felix Unger, a newly separated suicidal neurotic, as he moves in with slovenly divorcee and best friend Oscar Madison in 1969 New York. As the two friends become roommates, they discover that even an eight-room apartment is too small to fit their confusions and egos, to riotous effect. Simon’s original Broadway production featured Walter Matthau as Oscar and Art Carney as Felix, gaining Tony Awards for Best Actor, Best Author, Best Direction of a Play, and Best Scenic Design, as well as a nomination for Best Play. The rambunctious roommates’ story blossomed into a 1968 film, a hit 1970 television show starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman (admit it, you hear the theme song in your head), and numerous reboots and revivals.

BCT veteran Randy Barth directs the production with an insanity and honesty that Simon himself would find endearing. The entire production feels much like a 1960’s sitcom, complete with decade-appropriate house music during the intermissions. Many of the aged jokes at the characters’ wives expense come off more as satire, serving to show the men as the sarcastic yet dedicated husbands they are. Barth even pays tribute to the sitcom by using its theme song as the backdrop to curtain call. As casting director, Barth scores a perfect 100, with every actor assuming their roles as though they were written specifically for them.

Set Designer Dan Lavanga brings the late 60’s into clear focus with pale tan walls, ugly curtains, and a patterned couch that could only have come from the visual disaster that was the late 60’s. The audience is welcomed into Oscars’ dilapidated apartment with clothing and trash everywhere, black & white sports photos of famous New York ball players hanging on the walls, and a massive dying Ficus in the corner of the room. Following a few quick intermissions, the stage crew, by direction of Stage Manager Valerie Mikles, turns the apartment into a clean, pristine home. They even took care to clean up the remnants of Felix’s ill-fated mug, which Felix shatters in a moment of rage, only to wail that he’d hurt his arm throwing it. Properties Designer Alan & Penni Barnett help to cement the scene with era-appropriate props, such as Oscar’s often used rotary phone, and Felix’s 1960’s antique vacuum.

While the costume design for the show isn’t flashy, Costume Designer Linda Swann brings charm and reality to the characters, with Oscar sporting a more relaxed wardrobe and beret, while Felix is never seen without his suit and bowtie. Adding to Felix’s lovable quirkiness are his various aprons, eliciting guffaws from the audience during the scene where Felix serves his confuddled poker buddies snacks during the weekly game. Capping off the 60’s sitcom motif is Sound Designer Mo Hopper. Though most sound effects and clips sound like something from a cheap soundboard, the cheesy and dated sounds feel right at home in a sitcom setting.

Leading off the show are poker buddies Speed (Michael Carlton Smith), Murray (David Buckingham), Roy (John Cholod), and Vinnie (Bill Brekke). A veritable clan of kookiness, the guys serve as commentary in Oscar and Felix’s lives, floating every goofy thought that could possibly go through someone’s mind in their situation. Smith’s Speed is gruff and sarcastic, always ready to take pot shots at his pals, particularly when they waste time between poker hands. Buckingham plays Murray, an NYC cop, as an overconfident pessimist, who seems to “feel it in his bones,” whenever something isn’t right with his friends, though he never seems to be right. His obsession with perfectly shuffles cards during the early moments of the show garners sharp criticism from Speed, to hysterical effect. Roy (John Cholod) seems to have little concern besides the air quality of the apartment, complaining about the guys’ cigar smoke in the opening scene, then complaining how much he missed it once Felix changes the atmosphere from smoke and haze to Lysol and air purification. Bill Brekke’s Vinnie is the quintessential henpecked husband, constantly checking the time to be sure he gets home on time to appease his wife, making him an easy target for the other’s jabs. The four men are gross, sarcastic, and judgmental. In other words, the ideal group of friends. Their concern for Felix and Oscar is matched only by their concern for the poker game.

Commanding the stage with comical grace is Louis B. Murray as divorced sportswriter Oscar Madison. A slick, upbeat yet deadbeat dad and husband, Murray’s Oscar feels like a page out of Redd Foxx’s autobiography. With exasperated grunts and resentful acceptance for his roommate Felix, one can’t help but see the similarities between Murray’s Oscar and Foxx’s immortal Fred G. Sanford (the “G” is for “Good God, Murray is funny!”). Of course, he was surrounded by junk, treated his friends like “big dummies,” and his acerbity knew no bounds, so it’s easy to see the connection. Coincidentally, Foxx’s TV son Demond Wilson went on to star as Oscar in an 80’s reboot of the Odd Couple sitcom. Murray’s lightning quick delivery and sour yet engaging demeanor absolutely dominated the stage with a reality that few of us would ever admit we could see in ourselves. Even during a simple mix-up when Murray accidentally referred to himself as “Felix,” the exchange between him and the poker pals felt as natural as any frustrated landlord and friend would feel.

Oscar’s renter, cook, and best friend, Felix Unger is brought to amusing life by an almost unrecognizable Paul Ballard. Known for playing strong male roles, such as Captain Von Trapp (The Sound of Music) and Emile de Becque (South Pacific), Ballard takes on a whole new persona as obsessive hypochondriac Felix Unger, a role that may be among his best. Following a breakup with his wife, the miserable Felix accepts Oscar’s offer to move in with him, sparking a wacky three-week adventure worthy of only Neil Simon. Ballard’s Felix is nuttier than a squirrel, straightlaced and nerdy to a fault. His tendency to break into wails and sobs, and his awkwardness around the ladies leaves the audience in stitches as he stumbles through unintended double entendres and falls right into Oscar’s jests. Murray and Ballard’s chemistry is fire, playing off each other like they’ve been friends all their lives, a clear but begrudging friendship that serves to make both better men. In matching wits during the beginning of Act III, Murray and Ballard share a few moments of silent provocation toward each other, tossing chips onto Felix’s newly vacuumed floor and stuffing Oscar’s hat full of trash. The audience was no more good, roaring with laughter. The only question following the actors’ performance is this: When does the sitcom start?!

Rounding out the cast are the Pigeon Sisters, Gwendolyn (Ansley Gerhard) and Cecily (Maria Mitiuriev). Oscar’s neighbors (and fellow elevator hostages), the ladies enter the scene when Oscar desires “something soft” after few weeks rooming with Felix. A little dopey, really flirty, and totally sixties, the ladies strut their stuff in Twiggy-esque style and Nancy Sinatra boots. Being from England, the sisters have silly and exaggerated accents, though their accents seem to be from two different parts of Britannia. While this would be of some concern in most productions, Barth’s sitcom motif is well-served by this peculiarity, making the audience wonder if this was truly a mistake, or a commentary on the overstated cheesiness of acting in such sitcoms. Regardless, the ladies are beautiful and funny, and their mirroring of Felix’s embarrassment during the dinner scene is nothing short of uproarious.

Raucous and relatable, heartfelt and insane, Bowie Community Theatre’s production of Neil Simon’s classic The Odd Couple brings together superb direction, sublime casting, exceptional acting, and phenomenal stage design to craft a production that could only be described as perfect.

Running Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes with two intermissions

The Odd Couple plays through April 13^th 2025 with Bowie Community Theatre at The Bowie Playhouse in White Marsh Park— 16500 White Marsh Park Drive in Bowie, MD. For tickets please call the box office at (301) 805-0219 or purchase them online.