Updated ‘Odd Couple’ Displays Additional Depth

When Neil Simon revised his hit comedy “The Odd Couple” for the 1980s, he did more than change Oscar Madison to Olive and Felix Unger to Florence. The female version reflects Simon’s maturity as a playwright, says Kimberley Bouchard, director of “The Odd Couple,” which opens Wednesday in Pullman and is staged by the Pullman Summer Palace. “Although a lot of the gags are the same, you can see more craft to the writing,” Bouchard said. “He has filled out the characters and given them depth.”

The gender of the lead characters has changed, but the central conflict between them remains the same, Bouchard said.

Unger is neat, fastidious and punctual; Madison is sloppy and always late.

Some elements of the story have been updated for the 1980s. For example, the gang of poker players in the original has been replaced by a group of friends who meet to play the board game “Trivial Pursuit.” In the Broadway revival, these were all women, but Bouchard included one man, believing a mixed group might better reflect a contemporary woman’s circle of friends.

Two strong leads have made the show easy to direct, Bouchard says.

Samantha King of Berkeley, Calif., portrays Florence. She appeared in Pullman Summer Palace productions of “Anything Goes” and “Steel Magnolias” last summer.

Peggy Doherty a Washington State University student, plays Olive. She was last seen in WSU’s production of “Shooting Stars.”

“The play requires a lot of physical energy,” Bouchard said. “Samantha and Peggy can pull off the physical business and make it look natural.”

“The Odd Couple” is the second of three Summer Palace shows. The third, “Bye Bye Birdie,” opens July 21.

“The Odd Couple,” staged by Pullman Summer Palace, opens tonight at R.R. Daggy Theatre at Washington State University in Pullman. The play will be repeated Saturday and July 13-16. Curtain is at 8 p.m. Tickets: $8, $6 for seniors, $4 for WSU students and youth 18 and under; call 335-7236