The Odd Couple (play)
The Odd Couple is a play by Neil Simon. Following its premiere on Broadway in 1965, the characters were revived in a successful 1968 film and 1970s television series, as well as several other derivative works and spin-offs. The plot concerns two mismatched roommates: the neat, uptight Felix Ungar and the slovenly, easygoing Oscar Madison. Simon adapted the play in 1985 to feature a pair of female roommates (Florence Ungar and Olive Madison) in The Female Odd Couple. An updated version of the 1965 show appeared in 2002 with the title Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple.
The Odd Couple
Female version[edit]
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: Mikey, Sylvie, Vera, and Renee. The English-born Pigeon sisters became the Spanish-born 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, responsible for the 1968 film version, the leads were Sally Struthers as Florence (Felix) and Rita Moreno as Olive (Oscar), respectively, with Lewis J. Stadlen and Tony Shalhoub (in his Broadway debut) as the Costazuela brothers. Moreno was later replaced by Brenda Vaccaro. Struthers indicated on Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast that Moreno was very difficult to work with.
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A London production of this version ran at the Apollo Theatre in 2001 and starred Paula Wilcox (Florence) and Jenny Seagrove (Olive).[19][20][21]
Translated into Spanish as La extraña pareja, the female version opened in Madrid in 2017. It was directed by Andrés Rus and the lead roles were played by Susana Hernáiz (Olga/Olive) and Elda García (Flora/Florence).[22]