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OPPOSITES REACT
Neil Simon’s comedy ‘The Odd Couple’
opens at the Coaster Theatre on May 4
By NANCY MCCARTHY
FOR COAST WEEKEND
‘T
he Odd Couple” is
about more than the
bickering of two
grown men.
The comedy’s story of
friendship, loneliness and
getting on with life after a
break-up is shaped by small
nuances.
In the hands of director
Susi Brown, those nuances —
the “peas and carrots” as she
calls them — are just as im-
portant as the whole enchilada.
How the guys handle the poker
chips, when Murray grabs that
third soda, how often Roy uses
his handkerchief to wipe sweat
from his forehead, when the
poker players pivot in unison
to open the front door: Togeth-
er these gestures — along with
many more in the three acts —
define the characters’ person-
alities and move the narrative
forward.
Written by Neil Simon,
“The Odd Couple” opens
Friday, May 4, at the Coaster
Theatre Playhouse in Can-
non Beach. The play centers
on the irascible Oscar, who
prizes sloppiness, and Felix,
a neat-freak people-pleaser
who moves in with Oscar.
Both men are going through
divorces.
Most of the story occurs
during poker games with four
friends. As the play’s director,
Brown is interested not only in
the main plot between Oscar
and Felix but also the friends’
backstories and the poker
game itself.
“I’m a perfectionist,” ad-
mitted Brown, who has a fine
arts degree in directing. She
works her cast hard, usually
putting them through an act
two or three times during a
rehearsal. But she also wants
her cast to have fun.
“If you do something as
well as you can and create
as many details to help the
Ryan Hull, left, as Felix, and Donald Conner as Oscar, rehearse a
scene from ‘The Odd Couple’ at the Coaster Theatre Playhouse
in Cannon Beach.
COLIN MURPHEY PHOTOS
From left: David Sweeney as Vinnie, Ben VanOsdol as Murray, Donald Conner as Oscar, Slab Slabins-
ki as Speed and Frank Jagodnik as Roy in the Coaster Theatre’s production of ‘The Odd Couple.’
audience experience the world
of the play and find themselves
in the story, the more fun you
have as an actor or a crew
member,” Brown said.
“I think there’s nothing
better than doing a show well.”
Oscar and Felix
“The Odd Couple” is
primarily about friendship,
Brown said.
“That’s why I love this play
so much. It is about friendship
from the get-go right until the
end, and everybody can relate
to that. I think it’s some of Mr.
Simon’s best writing.
“I love the way the char-
acters respond to each other.
I love the whole card-playing
of this.”
Brown can relate to the
poker players; she played pi-
nochle with a group of women
for 15 years.
“These six men have these
little peccadilloes that are so
reminiscent of when I was
playing pinochle with my
friends,” Brown said.
IF YOU GO
What: “The Odd Cou-
ple,” by Neil Simon
Where: The Coaster
Theatre Playhouse,
108 N. Hemlock St.,
Cannon Beach
When: Fridays and
Saturdays, May 4 and
5, 11 and 12, 18 and
19, 25 and 26; Sun-
days, May 6 and 27.
Performances begin
at 7:30 p.m., except
for a 3 p.m. show
Sunday, May 6.
Finding those nuances
that create each character is a
collaborative effort between
Brown and the actors.
“When I’m studying a
play, I try to find where all
characters fit into this, and a
few particular traits that fit into
the character. I try to guide
the actors to those traits if
they haven’t discovered them
themselves.”
At first, Don Conner began
playing Oscar as a grumpy
man, much the way Walter
Matthau played him in the
movie. But “when you step
away from that, and you read
the script, you realize this man
is having fun with his friends,”
Conner said. “Susi helped me
to realize that.
“He wants to have a good
time with his friends, but he’s
also a very good friend. It’s
not his first goal to show what
a good friend he is, but he’s
always motivated by that,” he
added.
“He’s got his issues, but
he’s a good guy. He’s a guy
I’d like to hang out with.”
Brown calls Oscar “the
heart of the show. He loves all
these guys and has a chunk of
everyone’s personality. Don
plays a very sensitive Oscar
who is generous and lonely.”
Ryan Hull said he especial-
ly enjoys Felix’s “roller coast-
er ride with his neuroses.” In
the first act, Felix needs Oscar
to take him in, but if he push-
es too hard and is too needy, it
won’t happen.
“That’s one of the many
things that Susi helped me
with, working through the
moments. How much is too
much and where does he want
to go with that?” Hull said.
“Minute by minute, really
working each beat, each mo-
ment. Neil Simon, especially
with this show, is a genius at
writing comedy, and it’s all
right there. It’s all written into
these delicious beats, and you
have to be there and work
them.”
Attention to details
Not only does Brown pay
attention to detail, Hull added,
but she’s tenacious. “In her
own words, ‘stubborn,’ but
that’s a good thing that she
is so locked in and stubborn
with this detail, this nuance,
the way the words are put
together. What that does is
what makes this show, and
her directing, great.”
Even more layers are add-
ed in the comedy through the
various personalities of the
poker players, who, Brown
said, “embody all of humanity
in the play.” They include:
Vinnie (David Sweeney):
“A hen-pecked pleaser.”
Murray (Ben Van Osdol):
“Peacemaker. He genuinely
loves these guys. We see it.”
Speed (Slab Slabinski):
“Probably a used car sales-
man. He’s tired of being on
his feet all day.”
Roy (Frank Jagodnik): “He
doesn’t like pain. Every time
he complains, it’s because his
situation is upset.”
Two British sisters, played
by Sue Neuer and Sheila
Shaffer, manage to put Felix
in even more of a dither and
to twist the plot.
Brown’s attention to detail
even includes the stage props,
one in particular: the Pure-A-
Tron, a 1960s-era air purifier
that’s mentioned in the script.
A crew member found one on
Ebay, and Brown bought it.
“It is a real Pure-A-Tron
— and it does clear the air,”
she said. “I know no one in
the audience is going to notice
that this is a Pure-A-Tron, but
it’s one of those details that, to
me, makes a moment. It has
this little green light.” CW