The Marco Players open their 43rd season with a sure-fire comedy , albeit with a twist. Neil Simon had a huge hit with The Odd Couple in 1965 — and many people will remember the 1968 film starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemon, and the 1970s TV series. But perhaps fewer are aware that Simon reworked and updated his script in 1985 for a principal female cast - but retained basically the same plot.
“It works just as well as the original,” says director Mike Wignall, “in fact if anything, the author has added a new dimension.” Mike is a new face at the Marco , directing a cast full of new faces. He added: “This is actually only my second time directing, although I’ve been performing since I was 10.
” The ‘Odd Couple’ are played by Mindi Leonard-Lockett as ‘Florence Unger’ and newcomer Meredith Collison as ‘Olive Madison’. Meredith said:“Flo is the uptight one – Jack Lemon’s ‘Felix’ in the original – and Olive is the counterpart of Walter Matthau’s slobby Oscar. Mindi said: “They’re great characters to play.
“They just jump off the page. I’ve been looking for a good comedy to get my teeth into. “I only joined the company last year for Be My Baby and have only acted in dramas up till now – it’s good to get my teeth into an excellent comedy like this.
” The plot is virtually the same as the original Odd Couple — a group of friends get together one evening, as they always do when one of their regular group turns up having.