Auditions for Theatre-at-Tusculum’s production of ‘The Odd Couple’ Dec. 8-9

The Odd Couple are moving to Tusculum College.

Neil Simon’s award winning comedy, “The Odd Couple” will be the spring production of Theatre-at-Tusculum, and actors and actresses are being sought for the play to be directed by Marilyn duBrisk.

Open auditions will be held Tuesday, Dec. 8, and Wednesday, Dec. 9, in the David Behan Arena Theatre in the Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Building on the Tusculum campus.

Registration will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the auditions beginning at 6 p.m. on both days. No prepared audition pieces will be required. Auditions will consist of readings from the script.

The comedy has six roles for men and two roles for women of varying ages. The female roles are those of the giggly Pigeon sisters, Cecily and Gwendolyn, who are upstairs neighbors to Oscar and Felix.

Performance dates will be Feb. 26-28 and March 3-6 in the Behan Arena Theatre.

Theatre-at-Tusculum Technical Director Frank Mengel and Director Marilyn duBrisk discuss props and pause for a photo with the audition poster for the spring production of Neil Simon's comedy, “The Odd Couple.”

“The Odd Couple” follows the lives of two distinctly different best friends, Oscar Madison and Felix Unger. The tightly wound, hypochondriac Felix is forced to move in with the slovenly and brash Oscar. Hilarity ensues as they try to make peace with their opposing personalities. They are supported by their poker buddies – the police officer Murray, the gruff and sarcastic Speed, the henpecked Vinnie and the dry-witted Roy.

The play premiered on Broadway in 1965 with Walter Matthau and Art Carney portraying Oscar and Felix. The production was awarded several Tony Awards including Best Actor (Play) for Matthau and Best Author for Simon, and was nominated for Best Play that year. The play spawned the 1968 film of the same name, starring Matthau and Jack Lemmon, and also the hit 1970s television show featuring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall. A remake of the series premiered on CBS in February 2015 starring Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon.

“The Odd Couple” helped Simon become one of the best known American playwrights of the 20th Century, and the play has become culturally iconic and an American theatre staple, leading The New York Times to opine, “There is scarcely a moment that is not hilarious.”

For more information regarding auditions please call Tusculum College Arts Outreach at 423-798-1620.