A stage comedy with firm footing in American pop culture will be performed by Gilmer High School (GHS) students this weekend.
“The Odd Couple” will be presented as GHS Theater’s winter show Friday, Feb. 4-Sunday, Feb. 6, at the high school’s Linda Miller Theater. Showtimes are Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. Admission is $5 per person.
Most of the characters in this version of Neil Simon’s iconic comedy about two divorced roommates with opposite personalities are female, said James Fuller, GHS Theater director.
With “The Odd Couple” among Simon’s most popular and enduring works, he wrote two versions of the play that could be staged by either a mostly female or mostly male cast, Fuller noted.
“He reworked the script, but it’s really the exact same story. It’s a fun show, and we’re having a lot of fun with it,” Fuller said.
Florence Unger and Olive Madison are the two bickering lead characters whose personalities frequently clash.
Florence, played by Jordan Sharp, is high-strung and obsessively tidy, while Olive, played by Addie Davenport, is much more easy-going and far less concerned with neatness. Their differences often lead to snappy, comedic exchanges.
“Something I really like about Neil Simon’s shows is they’re about topical and sometimes kind of dark stuff that everybody deals with, but it’s handled in a funny, relatable way,” Fuller said.
The cast also features Jasmine Douglass as Mickey, Chelsea Parker as Sylvie, Rachel Ballew as Renee, Cloie Burnell and Emma Heaslip as Vera, Lucas McCoy as Jesus and Logan Hightower as Manalo.
Some of the cast members are returning performers, while, for others, it will be their first time onstage, Fuller noted.
“We have two seniors in the show, and there’s also some newer actors. It’s a little bit of everything,” he added.
The original stage version of “The Odd Couple” spawned a hit movie and TV show, while the title, itself, has long been used to describe a pair of mismatched personalities.
“(All the cast members) were sort of familiar with the name because it’s one of those things that, even if you’ve never seen it, you’re familiar with it,” Fuller said.
The cast has done well in picking up the zany play’s rapid fire, often self-deprecating style of humor, Fuller confirmed.
“A great thing about this show is the comedy is pretty timeless, slice of life stuff, so they haven’t had as hard a time with it as you might think,” he added.
The GHS players will return to the stage in May for their big spring show, which will be “9 to 5: The Musical,” Fuller said.