Last Weekend for The Odd Couple at TAP

Neil Simon’s hopelessly mismatched couple are heading into their last weekend of bickering at Sturgeon Bay’s Third Avenue Playhouse (TAP). The final three performances of this enduring comedy classic will be held October 16 – 18. The Friday and Saturday shows are planned for 7:30 pm, with the Sunday matinee being held at 2 pm.

Simon’s first Broadway hit comedy, Barefoot in the Park, focused on the trials and tribulations of newlyweds. On the heels of that success, Simon was eager to explore the comic possibilities of the other end of the spectrum – two divorced men living together. The Odd Couple opened in March 1965 and starred Walter Matthau as messy Oscar and Art Carney as fussy Felix. It went on to become the prolific playwright’s most beloved and long-lived comedy. The play spawned a hit film version, starring Jack Lemmon as Felix and Jack Klugman as Oscar. A revival of the play was seen on Broadway in 2005 with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in the starring roles.

Renee Kujawski directs the show, with Bill Bauernfeind as the divorced and sloppy Oscar and Stuart Champeau as the newly separated and fastidious Felix. Ginger Auld and Lola DeVillers play the parts of the delightful Pigeon Sisters, and Marcel Bruyere, David Magle, Margaret Magle and Henry Timm round out the cast as Oscar’s poker-playing pals.

Tickets for The Odd Couple are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. For more information or for tickets, visit TAP’s box office, the Dancing Bear on 13 N. Third Avenue, call 920.743.1760, or visit http://www.ThirdAvenuePlayhouse.com.