Roselyn Oudenampsen speelt Mickey
23-01-2015 15:40
Female Odd Couple takes Little Theatre stage
zGender switch up makes for some great laughs in production running Feb. 13, 14, 20 and 21 at Lindsay troupe’s George Street studio
Kawartha Lakes This Week
By Catherine Whitnall
LINDSAY - Opposites do attract and Lindsay Little Theatre is proving it can make for some great laughs with their upcoming, female version, of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple.
Directed by Caren McNeilly and taking the troupe’s 55 George St. studio stage Feb. 13, 14, 20 and 21, the comedy based on the hit play and television show follows the fun and foibles faced by female room mates, Florence Unger (Miranda Warren) and Olive Madison (Rebecca Riley).
Instead of the poker party that begins the original version, Olive has invited the girls - Mickey (Roselyn Oudenampsen), Sylvie (Sharon Drew), Renee (Lisa McCann) and Vera (Holly English) - over for an evening of Trivial Pursuit. The Pidgeon sisters have been replaced by the Constanzuela brothers, Manolo (Anthony Jackson) and Jesus (Jesse Perrotta), but the hilarity remains the same.
“I personally think it’s funnier. The pace is definitely faster,” said Ms McNeilly. “Everybody’s having such a good time.”
Ms McNeilly further noted being a female version adds a new dimension to the production, as does adding the two Spanish brothers, whose grasp of the English language is questionable and creates its own comedy dynamic, “especially when they’re trying to figure out what these women are really saying.”
The group is striving to stick to the 80s feel of the production, both in props, decor and costumes as well as the socio-economic trends of the time period.
“They’re very stereotypical characters from the 80s,” said Ms Warren, citing, unlike the 60s - the time period of the original play - it was more accepted and common in the 80s to see women living alone, being more forward when it came to men, holding down good paying, professional jobs, and even smoking cigars. “And they’re both divorced, which, for women, was more accepted by society.”
Ms McNeilly said the reason behind producing the female version was simple.
“You have to go with what you have and we generally have more women than men audition for shows,” said Ms McNeilly. “Doing this version gives more members an opportunity to be on stage.”
Having a cast with years of experience has also affected the production; in a very good way.
“They’ve really come together. Everybody’s bringing their A game,” said Ms McNeilly, adding the show has come together fairly quickly and is at the point of fine tuning a few points, particularly when it comes to the physical comedy aspects.
Tickets for the show, which runs nightly at 8 p.m., cost $18 and are available from the Academy Theatre for Performing Arts box office, by phoning 705-324-9111, or online at www.kawarthatickets.ca.
Bron: https://www.mykawartha.com/
Roselyn Oudenampsen (M.58)