Pair's Performances Help Make 'Odd Couple' Fresh

Fred Nelson, left, is Oscar Madison and Gary Crawford is Felix Ungar in Castaways Repertory Theatre's production of Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple." (M.a. Sullivan)

The oddest thing about Castaways Repertory Theatre's production of "The Odd Couple" is how fresh the often-performed comedy seems in the hands of director Julie Little and actors Fred Nelson and Gary Crawford. It is an auspicious Castaways directorial debut for Little, and the success of this show almost erases the memory of Castaways' disastrous production of "Dracula" in the fall.

It has been four decades since the Neil Simon comedy about mismatched Manhattan roommates made fussy Felix and slovenly Oscar into American archetypes. The Broadway hit spawned a popular movie, a long-running television series and a number of spinoff plays, films and other TV shows (even a cartoon), becoming a local theater staple in the process.

Theater companies love the play, which requires only one set and a relatively small cast, and the play's familiarity and the Simon name draw an audience. That has resulted in overexposure, however, making the crispness of Castaways' painstakingly detailed and lovingly performed production such a pleasant surprise.

The biggest surprise is the flair Nelson and Crawford have for silly comedy. The tall and usually regally imposing Nelson is most often seen playing Shakespearean kings. That he can do comedy is not totally unexpected: He successfully portrayed John Barrymore, himself a Shakespearean king of sorts, in the comedy "I Hate Hamlet," but the elegant Barrymore is a far cry from Oscar Madison. Nelson's Oscar is played more relaxed than slovenly, with a natural, realistic sense of character. Crawford, who has not been particularly successful in several past Castaways dramas, displays good comic timing as Felix Ungar and has a light touch with the familiar dialogue, avoiding some of the cliched mannerisms one expects to see with this role.

Nelson and Crawford work together like a well-oiled machine, which may be because they have played these roles together previously. The energy level is highest when they are alone together onstage, hurling snappy dialogue back and forth and allowing Simon's wit to play out nicely. The supporting cast members also turn in generally good performances, despite what is a continuing distraction at Castaways shows: the taking of flash pictures by thoughtless audience members.

Tom Hannon's set is a multidimensional apartment filled with period props, grounding the story in realism, an effort aided immeasurably by Lynn Lacey's creative sound design.

Castaways Repertory Theatre seems to be entering a period of retrenchment, going back to musty old standbys for most of this season and next and abandoning, at least for now, the newer plays that have been the most artistically satisfying work the troupe has done in the past few seasons.

The company is turning into the theater equivalent of an oldies radio station. After "Steel Magnolias" this spring, a comedy-drama already performed quite well this season by Prince William Little Theatre and seemingly on every local theater's calendar these days, Castaways will present the tired Agatha Christie play, "Ten Little Indians"; one of Neil Simon's lesser comedies, "Rumors"; and one of the most frequently trotted-out plays in theater history, "The Man Who Came to Dinner," currently running in Arlington for its second Northern Virginia outing in recent months. Let's hope that Castaways will surprise us and give these all-too-familiar plays some new life, as Little and company have managed with "The Odd Couple."

"The Odd Couple," performed by Castaways Repertory Theatre, continues through Feb. 19 at the Dr. A.J. Ferlazo Building, 15941 Donald Curtis Dr., Woodbridge. Performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with a matinee Saturday at 1 p.m. For information and tickets, call 703-508-5418 or visit www.castawaystheatre.org.