On the night of May12th, I had the pleasure to watch the actors of Homer High School perform The Odd Couple, directed by Val Cleland and Kim Hubbard. While this play was originally portrayed by two male characters, Oscar Madison and Felix Unger, Homer High School performed an even more endearing version starring two women in the leading roles, Florence, played by Rachel Bouwens, and Olive, played by Lucia Caravella. With Act One spanning forty-five minutes and Act 2 being fifty-two minutes long, The Odd Couple depicts a devastated woman whose husband of fourteen years had just broken up with her. In search of consolation, she’s invited to stay at her friend Olive’s house. She comes to the realization that “14 years doesn’t make you a happy couple, it just makes you a long couple.” The Odd Couple depicts the differences between Florence and Olive as they struggle through living together.

The jazzy theme song of The Odd Couple occasionally popped up and was quite the mood lifter in contrast to the sad notion this play portrays. Despite the play’s sorrowful tone, it is filled with witty, sarcastic, and cynical comebacks like “We want them romantic, not diabetic!” and acasual commentary on sexisim with remarks like “I would never support an ex-husband. Not until I get equal pay with men!” and “You mean men, well if you wanna give it a name, yeah, men!”

Homer’s actors were right at home in the 80s donning costumes full of neon earrings, scrunched up socks, and enough off-the-shoulder sweatshirts to join a Jazzercise group. The set included pink walls plastered with framed baseball portraits staring down at an unorganized bookshelf and pizza boxes on the floor in front of the couch. The couch was a forest green color with tarnished gilded embellishment sitting next to a vintage floral lamp without a lampshade. The dining table on the right of the stage became a designation for group therapy, and even though most of this play is a cry-fest, it conveys the message of how delicate relationships can be and the importance of nurturing them. With incessant phone calls, doorbell buzzing, a language barrier, and constant sobbing, The Odd Couple creates a chaotically funky quality which concluded with a curtain call where the cast danced their way to the front of the stage.

Cast List

Florence Ungar………………………………………………………Rachel Bouwens

Olive Madison………………………………………………………….Lucia Caravella

Vera…………………………………………………………………………...Alexis Hill

Renee…………………………………………………………………Lavinia Caravella

Sylvie………………………………………………………………….Emma Robideau

Manolo Costazuela……………………………………..………………..Zen Northrup

Jesus Costazuela………………………………………………….……..Aaron Lener

Mickey Rooney………………………………………………………...…Ryder Wynn