Calling all actors, potential actors, and people who have
the itch to try, here is your chance to shine! Auditions for the Odd Couple are taking place;
January 17th Session
1 10:00am-12:30pm,
Session
2 1:30pm-4:00pm
January 18th Call
backs as required 10:30am-12:30pm
Auditions will be held at Keyano Theatre, 8115 Franklin
Avenue. They will comprise of group readings of the play and
some scene work. It is recommended to read the play in advance of the audition.
Scripts will be available to sign out at Keyano Theatre Box Office, open;
- Monday - Wednesday 12:30
pm - 4:00 pm
- Thursday - Friday
12:30 pm - 8:00 pm
- Saturday 11:00
am - 4:00 pm
Local director, Russell Thomas, will be casting 6 male
roles and 2 female roles ages 25+. To book an audition please contact; Susan McGillicuddy
at (780) 791-8913 or email artsinfo@keyano.ca
Written by the legendary Neil Simon, The Odd Couple was inspired by the real life post-divorce
experiences of television comedy writer Danny Simon. The play features two oil
and water roommates, Felix Ungar,
a neurotic, neat freak, news writer and Oscar Madison, a sloppy,
easy going, sportswriter.
Felix is thrown out by his
wife and in desperation moves in with his friend Oscar Madison. Oscar enjoys
life, spends freely, gambles too often, and never cleans preferring to live in
a house filled with spoiled food. Felix,
on the other hand, is utterly incapable of enjoying anything except pointing
out his own and other people's mistakes and foibles. Even when he means well, his
corrections and suggestions prove extremely annoying to those around him.
Oscar, his closest friend, feels compelled to throw him out after only a brief
time together, though he quickly realizes that Felix has had a positive effect
on him.
The
Odd Couple premiered on Broadway at the Plymouth
Theatre on March 10, 1965 and transferred to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre where it
closed on July 2, 1967 after 964 performances and two previews. Directed by Mike Nichols,
the cast starred Walter Matthau as Oscar Madison and Art Carney as
Felix Ungar. The production gained Tony Awards for
Walter Matthau, Best Actor (Play), Best Author (Play), Best Direction of a
Play, and Best Scenic Design (Oliver Smith), and was nominated for Best Play.
…In 1985, Neil Simon revised The
Odd Couple for a female
cast. The Female Odd Couple was
based on the same story line and same lead characters, now called Florence
Ungar and Olive Madison. The poker game became Trivial
Pursuit with
their friends becoming the girlfriends: Mickey, Sylvie, Vera, and Renee. The
Pigeon sisters became the Costazuela brothers, Manolo and Jesus.
The Female Odd Couple opened
on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on June 11, 1985 and closed on
February 23, 1986 after 295 performances and nine previews. Directed by Gene Saks the cast starred Sally
Struthers and Rita Moreno as Florence (Felix) and Olive (Oscar),
with Lewis J.
Stadlen and Tony Shalhoub(in
his Broadway debut) as the Costazuela brothers.
…In 1968, The Odd Couple was made into a highly successful film starring Jack Lemmon as
Felix and Walter Matthau (once more) as Oscar. Most
of the script from the play is the same, although the setting is expanded:
instead of taking place entirely in Oscar's apartment, some scenes take place
at various outside locations. The film was also written by Simon (who was
nominated for an Academy Award) and was directed by Gene Saks.
…In 1998, Jack Lemmon and Walter
Matthau reprised their roles for the film The Odd Couple II, produced by Neil
Simon.
…The success of the film was the basis
for 114 episodes of the 1970–75 ABC television sitcom, starring Tony Randall as Felix and Jack Klugman as Oscar. Klugman was familiar with
the role as he had replaced Walter Matthau in the original Broadway run. Neil
Simon originally disapproved of this adaptation, but by the series' final
season, he reassessed the show positively to the point of appearing in a cameo
role.
…Randall and Klugman also reunited in
1993 for a made-for-TV reunion film based upon the series. The movie was
initially broadcast on CBS on September 24, 1993. Robert Klane
was the writer and director, with a cast that included Barbara
Barrie as Felix's
wife, Penny
Marshall as Myrna and Dick Van
Patten. The throat-cancer surgery that Jack Klugman (Oscar) had is
written into the script, when Felix (Tony Randall) stays with Oscar and helps
with his rehabilitation.
…In the fall of 1975, ABC aired a
cartoon version of the play entitled The Oddball Couple, produced by
Paramount and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. The roles
were played by a cat and dog named Spiffy and Fleabag.
…In 1982, ABC aired a new version of
the series, entitled The New Odd Couple. Produced by Garry
Marshall, the premise of the new version has two black actors, Ron Glass as Felix and Demond Wilson as Oscar…This new version was not
successful and was canceled after just 13 episodes.
…In December 2013, it was announced
that Matthew Perry will be starring, co-writing, and
executive-producing a remake of The Odd Couple. The multi-camera
comedy will start airing in midseason 2015 on CBS. Perry will play Oscar
Madison, a known slob; the role of his clean freak roomie Felix Unger will be
portrayed by Thomas Lennon. The show will also star Wendell
Pierce as Teddy, their
cop friend (a stand-in for Murray), and Georgia King and Lindsay
Sloane as Katie and
Emily (taking over for the Pigeon sisters). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Odd_Couple)
Don’t
miss your chance to be a part of this famous play book your audition now!
To
book an audition please contact; Susan McGillicuddy at (780) 791-8913 or email artsinfo@keyano.ca
