Tom Akers, Joe Urbaitis, Kendall Burnett, Sharon Cumberbach, and Matt Walsh in "The Odd Couple" at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre -- February 18 through 27.
Friday, February 18, through Sunday, February 27
Playcrafters Barn Theatre, 4950 35th Avenue, Moline IL
One of the most beloved stage comedies in American history opens the 2022 season at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre, with the venue, from February 18 through 27, housing Neil Simon's classic tale of divorced roommates The Odd Couple, the five-time Tony Award winner that inspired a successful film adaptation and a long-running, Emmy-winning sitcom.
Simon’s timeless 1965 riot opens as a group of the friends are in the midst of their weekly poker game in the apartment of divorced sportswriter Oscar Madison – and if the mess is any indication, it's no wonder that his wife left him. The last to arrive is Felix Ungar, who has just been thrown out by his wife. Felix is depressed and seems suicidal, leading Oscar to invite Felix to be his roommate. But the two men are like oil and water: Oscar is fun-loving, sociable, sloppy, and lazy, while Felix is a shy, stay-at-home, obsessive-compulsive neat freak. The final straw occurs when Felix refuses to follow through with a double-date Oscar has set up with the beautiful Pigeon sisters, who live in the same apartment building. As The Odd Couple reaches its hilarious conclusion, Simon's verbal and physical slapstick asks the age-old question: When a clean freak and a slob come to blows, can friendship survive?
Directing The Odd Couple for Playcrafters is venue veteran Teresa Moore, who has appeared on-stage at the Moline theatre in productions of Marie & Rosetta and Proposals, the latter also boasting a Neil Simon script. The roles of Oscar and Felix are portrayed, respectively, by Matt Walsh (the Black Box Theatre's The Turn of the Screw) and Antonio Stone (Playcrafters' The Piano Lesson), with the cast completed by Tom Akers, Kendall Burnett, Sharon Cumberbatch, Anna Kronenberger, Nichole Collins Payney, and Joe Urbaitis. Phil Cathoir is The Odd Couple's producer and Jane Watson its stage manager, and additional members of Moore's creative team include technical director and set builder Randy Moore, lighting designer Jennifer Kingry, sound designer Skip Greer, set dresser Gaye Burnett, and poster designer Katie Newport.
The Odd Couple runs at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre February 18 through 27, performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m., and admission is $13-15. For tickets and information, call (309)762-0330 and visit Playcrafters.com.
