Metro Pulse/Backstage/The Odd Couple

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What:
The Odd Couple, produced by Vogue Productions

When:
Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 3 p.m. through May 19

Where:
Bijou Theater

Cost:
$10/$12. Call Tickets Unlimited at 656-4444 for further info.

On complicated relationships, crisp comedies, and Neil Simon

by Adrienne Martini

First, a conflict of interest alert: Normally, I have a standard policy when it comes to assigning a reviewer for any creative piece, whether it be a play, CD, and/or book. Since Knoxville is a relatively small city and the arts community even smaller, merely being an acquaintance/friend/ drinking buddy is rarely enough to disqualify a writer from any given project. If that were the case, reviewers would need to be raised like veal; in cages, with no contact with the field that they are supposed to cover. However, there have to be some standards. My one rule is, if you have ever slept (in the active sense) with someone involved in the project, then you don't review it. It has been a sound policy, and one that has served well over the years.

Now, I'm going to break my own guideline. No, no, this isn't some sordid confession about a torrid affair with one of Knoxville's thespians, although that might make for a better, if fictional, read. My conflict is much more banal. Scott Segar, the technical director for the Bijou and lighting designer for Vogue Theatre's production of The Odd Couple just happens to be my husband. So, now you know. (If you are troubled by this, please sit right down and write your letter now, rather than continuing to read on.)

Of course, I have a perfectly good reason (or, perhaps, rationalization) for straying from my own time-tested principle. This production is simply fraught with pitfalls for even the most experienced theater reviewer and, rather than toss a highly talented but less-seasoned writer into this morass, I thought it better to wade in myself.

What makes this The Odd Couple such a tricky little beastie is not what is in Neil Simon's text. The show itself remains pretty much what you'd expect it to be if you are at all familiar with the '70s Jack Klugman/Tony Randall sitcom of the same name. Two divorcees—one anal-expulsively sloppy, the other painfully tidy—bunk up and learn how to live again without their families. Lots of jokes are cracked in Simonian fashion. The occasional sweet moment is had. And we all live happily ever after.

The knotty bit in this particular production of Simon's straightforward script is that starring as Oscar is one Doug Mason, theater critic/arts writer for the News-Sentinel. Because of this, there is no good way to approach this production. From some outside perspectives, a harsh review of Mason's performance would be sour grapes on Metro Pulse's part, some bitter payback for a perceived slight—which actually isn't the case, but it is often impossible to talk people out of their perceptions. A kind review is just one more example of members of the media protecting each other from the harsh arrows of public input. And there are, of course, myriad hues of gray in between those two points.

So let me posit this as an honest review—and I have endeavored to be as open as I possibly can up to this point. You, dear reader, are welcome to pin whatever motivations on this as you would like, but it is the best assessment that I have: Mason's performance is above average by local standards. His performance, and likewise solid jobs by Patrick McCray as Felix, Susannah Devereaux as Gwendolyn Pigeon, Douglas Hileman as Vinnie, and Tiffany Noel Smith as Cecily Pigeon, aren't what ultimately derails Vogue Theatre's Odd Couple. What does is the production's lack of crispness, which is what sets a great comedy apart from a merely competent one.

Simon has already polished this material to the point where it practically glows. All any theater company need do is deliver the lines with precise intent and a minimum of extraneous fuss and they are golden. Unfortunately, that's not what happens on the Bijou stage. Some moments work, granted, like the scene between Felix and the Pigeon sisters where cues are sharply picked up, motivations are clear, and the blocking is simple. But most of the show's energy is diffused by flaccid timing between lines, unclear blocking and motivation coupled with overly theatrical bits of business, as well as overall sogginess in pacing. Had director McCray not also been playing a large role in the show, perhaps these issues would have been cleaned up, resulting in a much stronger production.

Still, this is the first show for Vogue and the first time for anything is always a learning experience. Given the talent that this company was able to attract—and, for the record, the scenes that work are pretty good—their future could be a bright one, if they stop and focus on the basics of what makes certain shows tick. McCray and Mason should team up again but, next time, spend more time crafting a rock-solid, enjoyable evening of theater that needs no apologies. It shouldn't matter who reviews any subsequent productions, simply because it will knock the socks off anyone who attends.