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By Christen M. Stroh

The weekends of March 11 – 13 and March 18 – 20 at the Grand Theatre in Elizabeth brought the characters of Oscar Madison and Felix Unger to life for both those who have been familiar with them for decades as well as those from a younger generation.

The cast of “The Odd Couple”

Both old and young alike can appreciate the plotline, which focuses on working to make a relationship work despite seemingly incompatible personalities. When fussbudget Felix is kicked out of his home by his wife, who intends to divorce him, he turns to his best friend, carefree and careless Oscar.

Set in the 1960s, this particular production did a good job of highlighting the timelessness of the notion that it takes a lot of work to get relationships to work, whether platonic or marital in nature. In a casting twist, the actors who portrayed Felix and Oscar switched roles each weekend – during weekend one, Michael Shahen played the role of Felix and Bob Rak played the role of Oscar. During weekend two, Shahen played Oscar and Rak played Felix. Director Tyson Sears said, “Having the actors switch up the roles really was a lot of fun – they both have very different interpretations of the characters, bring forth completely different perspectives.”

Rounding out the cast were George Montgomery, Bob Scott, Bob Ference, Michael Boyd, Vallie Brook, and Mandy Simpson. “Working with this cast was really the best part of doing this show, for me,” said Sears, who noted how talented they are and how enjoyable it was to work with them.

“The Odd Couple” originally debuted in New York City in 1965 on Broadway.

The next production for the Mon River Arts Adult Mainstage Series is “Legally Blonde,” which will run May 6 – 8 and May 13 – 15.

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