Most people know about the original 1965 version of Neil Simon’s affectionate comedy about two unlikely roommates, or about the it inspired.
* * * ½ comedy
Simon’s isn’t as well known. Too bad, because it’s genuinely witty, and a little edgier, as the proves.
In this version, directed by , sports fan Olive Madison (Leslie O’Carroll) lives large in her pigsty of an apartment. Worn clothes are scattered free range instead of being jailed in a closet. Take-out containers punctuate the discarded laundry, and the members of Olive’s Trivial Pursuit club have learned to mistrust virtually any of the expired snacks she serves.
Still, everyone has a pretty good time playing a game that reveals various personality quirks. One chair at the table is empty. Florence Unger (Sharon Kay White), a neat freak who’s so devoted that she keeps rubber cleaning gloves in her purse, is missing.
The women learn that Florence disappeared earlier that day after her husband announced that he wants a divorce. When she finally shows up, embracing self-pity the way toddlers clutch their loveys, the other women wrestle with their response. Compassion or tough love?
Finally, Olive invites Florence to . Olive almost immediately regrets her decision when Florence responds by volunteering to tidy the apartment.
With Florence in residence, Olive’s curtains are clean and contained by decorative ribbons. The free-range laundry is nowhere in sight, and Florence happily serves complicated homemade meals featuring instead of Chinese take-out. She spray-disinfects each Trivial Pursuit card and makes the other players use coasters:
“Here I thought they were big chocolate mints,” Vera (Judy Phelan-Hill) says sadly.
Florence’s squeaky-clean soliticiousness , but she perks up when Florence reluctantly agrees to host Spanish brothers Manolo (Rory Pierce) and Jesus (James Maxwell) for dinner. (Dinner and canoodling, Olive hopes.)
By turns smarmy and suggestive, Manolo and Jesus prove to fall somewhere between and . They galvanize Olive’s libido and horrify Florence. And guess who ends up with the boys.
O’Carroll and White have enormous fun with their parts. White is dour as a tortoise; O’Carroll is as amped as a game show contestant. The other actors offer nuanced interpretations, especially Pierce and Maxwell, whose chemistry is intoxicating.
Proceeds from ticket and concessions sales benefit Senior Housing Options, which operates six subsidized apartment buildings and six assisted living residences in Colorado.
Claire Martin: 303-954-1477, cmartin@denverpost.com or twitter.com/byclairemartin
“THE ODD COUPLE – FEMALE VERSION”
By Neil Simon. Directed by Edith Weiss. Featuring Leslie O’Carroll and Sharon Kay White. Benefit for Senior Housing Options. Through Aug. 22 at The Barth Hotel, 1514 17th St. Denver. Tickets online at seniorhousingoptions.org or by calling 303-595-4464 ex. 10.
