Tonight, Chrissy and I went to see The Odd Couple presented by That Theatre Co. (@ThatTheatreCo) and it was fantastic. Now, before I go any further, in the interests of full disclosure I must tell you that some of my good friends started or are involved with That Theatre Co. though that certainly does not mean that I will blow smoke just to give them an audience as I think that is unfair on you and them. It is with completely honesty that I urge you to see this show.
While other shows performed by That have been entertaining, none have quite reached the levels of this particular show or tonight's performance. From the casting to the set, everything was on point for opening night. This being the female version of The Odd Couple, Alexa Robbins and Keely Battle played the titular couple, Florence Unger and Olive Madison. Both were hilarious and uncomfortably accurate as the perfectionist and the slob trying to deal with living together in between game nights with their friends — played by Sarah Apple, Jasmine English, Paige Reynolds and Tori Stachelwitz — or date night with their Spanish neighbours — played by Eric Myrick and Armand Garnett, almost stealing the show as the Costazuelas brothers.
Having seen all of these actors in one or more shows, I admit that I was unsure of the casting when I first read the program. This is not meant as a slight to anyone involved; the cast is young and many factors can affect a performance, none more so than a lack of experience. However, my doubts were allayed; their experience has served them well as has the direction from Emily Bamrick and Jason Berry. if you add that several of the cast were pulling double duty as set managers, production assistants and make-up artists, it is truly impressive.
All in all, we had a really fun night out watching some talented people make us laugh, occasionally feeling awkward for it (I doubt we'd feel as awkward if Felix were grabbing Oscar's breast, but when it's Florence and Olive…). This theatre company deserves a bigger audience and you deserve to see this show. It runs for two more nights (Aug 2 and 3) at Washtenaw Community College. The show starts at 7pm, tickets are $10. Don't miss it!