The post-holiday slump is in full swing at my house and, I may venture, through much of the town. Our dreary forecast seems copied and pasted from one week to the next, and there is little to look forward to. A few hopeful store displays would have me think spring is just around the corner, but I know there is little reason to stir beyond my doorstep for months. In a community that lives for its outdoor recreation, what could draw me out this time of year?
The rest of the town may be hibernating, but Vernal Theatre: LIVE! is in the prime of its fourth season with Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple: Female Edition. There is nothing sleepy about this performance. The 1980’s reimagining of the 1960’s original male production comes to life brilliantly decked out in big earrings, bigger shoulder pads, and biggest hair. A mostly female cast, which features men only briefly as arm candy, provides a fresh twist on many of the tired cliches. The dialog flows as rapidly as one might expect from a half-dozen chatty friends on a girls night. I only wished that I had such company on a bleak January night.
The story begins in the grimy apartment of Miss Olive Madison (Katie Ufford), an unapologetically slobbish divorcee and host to her friends’ regular Trivial Pursuit get-togethers. It is immediately easy to like Olive and her jesting, convivial manner. I had a soft spot for her, just as surely as she had a soft spot for her shiftless, beggaring ex-husband. However, not actually being a member of her posse meant that I was spared the horrors of her domicile. (“I saw milk standing in there that wasn’t even in the bottle!”) The set crew (Daniel Jackson, Darren Laub, Karen Laub, Laura Chynoweth, and Lea Ann Jolley) and props manager (McKenna Christiansen) must have enjoyed the rare opportunity to design a space so unapologetically lived-in.
Last to arrive at the party is the not-so-amiable Florence Unger (McKenzie Johnstun). She is as nervous as Olive is nonchalant, as compulsive as Olive is careless, and quite likely to die momentarily of some imagined-into-existence syndrome. Florence’s husband has just left her, which means that Florence is in her finest form. Olive’s other friends seem unequal to spending much time around the agitated hysteric, but perhaps Olive’s breezy attitude alone can take on Florence’s eccentricities? We will soon see, as Olive invites Florence to live with her while she finds her footing as a single woman.
Ufford and Johnstun perform their comedic dance to hilarious effect. Florence is so insufferable and yet pathetic that we can’t help but adore her a little, while sympathizing whole-heartedly with the wise-cracking Olive. The duo prove that women can do comedy just fine, thank you. The remaining friends, Mickey (Karen Laub), Renee (Kristin Meanea), Sylvie (Jessica Warburton), and Vera (Lea Ann Jolley), tease and prod like real friends while constantly throwing out one-liners that make you wish you could garner an invite to their party. Mickey, a policewoman, suffers no fools. Renee is the gossip. Sylvie, a man-eater. Vera, the gullible dingbat. In less skilled hands, such roles could be boringly stereotypical, but this cast makes them authentic.
The Costazuela brothers, Manolo (Jordan Wagner) and Jesus (Dawson Norton), embrace the cliche: “Pair of exotic foreigners capture the lustful attentions of Protagonist #1.” Again, Neil Simon has done what all the best storytellers do; he invites the cliche only to flip it on its face. The Spanish brothers were delightful for their male ditziness, and Florence made the scene in being the typical Protagonist #2 who does not know what to do with the opposite sex.
All afore-mentioned flirting takes place in charmingly retro attire. Nashelle Jackson’s costume design will make you nostalgic for those floral and leopard prints, the half-a-can-of-hairspray bangs, the earrings that almost meet the high-waists, and the side ponies worn straight-faced by full-grown women.
The Odd Couple: Female Edition can be interpreted two ways: traditionally male comedy succeeds in the inverse, with a cast of brilliant comediennes. Or…dramatic theatre which features divorce, mental illness, suicide, and codependency. In truth, the play approaches the latter issues with the deft hand of comedy, and most audiences will leave with the light-hearted feeling that pervades the performance. It is worth noting, however, that elementary school children and younger will likely not appreciate the plot or the wit. (In some cases this is a mercy, as there is a peppering of innuendo.) More obvious is the occasional swearing that some parents might like to avoid, and that fact that one character is scarcely seen without a cigarette. Certain younger children will enjoy the more overt humor, if parents see fit to bring them.
Laura Chynoweth has done herself a credit in her directorial debut. She can boast a show that delivers on all fronts, most notably the timing required to make comedy soar. Speaking of timing, both she and her cast and crew managed to make their magic despite a season of holiday rehearsals, complete with a case of pneumonia. The show went on, and you will be glad you saw it.
You can see The Odd Couple this Thursday, January 23rd, through Saturday, January 25th at 7:00. For tickets and more information visit www.vernaltheatre.com, or get your tickets at the box office on the night of the performance.
Photo Credit: Joie Madison Photography
