Seattle actors John Procaccino and R. Hamilton Wright portray the most famous roommates in theatre history: Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, at Seattle's A Contemporary Theatre Oct. 5-29. Jeff Steitzer (The Bullit's St. Nicholas) directs.
The story of The Odd Couple is familiar from its 1965 Tony Award nominated Broadway run and subsequent popular TV spin-off starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman as two divorced men, one an uptight anal retentive, the other an incurable slob, forced to live together in a New York City apartment. Years later, Simon adapted the play for two women, with Rita Moreno as Olive Madison and Sally Struthers as Florence Unger in the 1985 Broadway version.
Venerated for his forty years of writing comedies, Simon is the author of Barefoot in the Park, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Lost in Yonkers and The Goodbye Girl. His The Dinner Party is currently previewing at Broadway's Music Box Theatre.
Procaccino stars as Oscar Madison, the slob. Last seen at ACT's Bullit in the hit production of Wallace Shawn's The Fever, he has appeared in the Seattle company's productions of Side Man (Gene) and The Crucible (Reverend Parris). He also co-starred in the world premiere of Down the Garden Paths and performed on Broadway in An American Daughter, Conversations with My Father and Art, as Alan Alda's understudy.
Wright's long list of ACT credits include The Crucible (Thomas Putnam), Red Noses (Father Flote), On the Razzle (Melchoir), The Revengers' Comedies (Henry Bell) and A Chorus of Disapproval (Guy Jones). Joining Procaccino and Wright are Geoffrey Alm (Vinnie), Mark Chamberlin (Roy), Allen Galli (Speed), Peter Silbert (Murray), Katie Forgette (Gwendolyn) and Liz McCarthy (Cecily).
Designing The Odd Couple are Ralph Funicello (sets), Marcia Dixcy Jory (costumes), Rick Paulsen (lighting) and Stephen LeGrand (sound).
Tickets are $42-$23. A Contemporary Theatre is located at Kreielsheimer Place. For tickets, call (206) 292-7676. A Contemporary Theatre is online at http://www.acttheatre.org.
-- By Christine Ehren
