Review: A brilliant pair of performances shine in Teatro's The Odd Couple
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It's both the final Teatro Live! production of the year, and the smash Broadway hit turned 1968 Hollywood classic starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Thankfully, the new show navigates around the dated jokes, steers clear of cliches and comes through with a fresh and hilarious look at the lives of a pair of divorcees.
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The setting is New York in 1965, a time when a pair of grown men living together would have been seen as odd. Oscar, living on his own while his ex-wife has decamped to California with their children, hosts the Friday night poker game in his empty eight-bedroom apartment.
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Felix is late, uncharacteristic for their normally punctual and uptight friend. It turns out he has separated from his wife of 12 years, and after consoling him and calming him down, Oscar agrees to give him a place to stay.
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It doesn't take long for the friction between the neat and tidy Felix to grate against the carefree and slovenly Oscar. Felix is constantly cleaning, picking up, tidying and generally making a nuisance of himself. Oscar doesn't care about the little details, about bills, about alimony payments to his wife, about how dinner is made. 'Spoon? You ignoramus, it's a ladle!' Felix shouts at him after a disagreement about dinner and cooking utensils.
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Alexander Ariate has incredible stage presence as Felix Unger, a thousand-watt smile lighting up the stage when he's happy and his frustration bursting out when things go south. He takes on a slight accent for the role, mild enough that it remains charming throughout. Think Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story franchise.
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Andrew MacDonald-Smith plays his opposite, the ever tidy and uptight Felix Unger. He puts on a veritable clinic of slapstick comedy, nailing comedic timings and able to pull a laugh with just an expression.
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The entire cast is great, from Kristin Johnston and Jenny McKillop as the sultry Pigeon sisters to the great group of supporting poker buddies of Mat Busby, Oscar Derkx, Bernardo Pacheco and Garrett Ross. But Ariate and MacDonald-Smith have done such an incredible job with their roles that they challenge even the greats of Lemmon and Matthau. I'd love to see this pair remake Grumpy Old Men.
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