{"id":37704,"date":"2021-11-05T01:52:29","date_gmt":"2021-11-05T08:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=37704"},"modified":"2021-11-04T17:45:38","modified_gmt":"2021-11-05T00:45:38","slug":"odd-couple-now-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2021\/11\/05\/odd-couple-now-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Odd Couple now on"},"content":{"rendered":"

Left to right: Rob Stover, Kimball Finigan, Adam Abrams, Michael S. Weir and Adrian Maxwell in Metro Theatre Vancouver\u2019s The Odd Couple. (photo by Tracy-Lynn Chernaske)<\/em><\/p>\n

Neil Simon\u2019s famous comedy The Odd Couple<\/em> opened Oct. 30 on the Metro Theatre Vancouver stage. It runs until Nov. 14.<\/p>\n

We meet divorced sportswriter Oscar Madison (played by Rob Stover) as his buddies arrive for their weekly poker game. One of the friends welcomed into Oscar\u2019s messy abode is news writer Felix Unger (played by Adrian Maxwell), who is also divorced, but exists on the opposite end of the neat-and-tidy spectrum. The fact that the men are opposites in so many ways does not prevent Oscar from inviting Felix \u2013 who is so depressed it worries Oscar \u2013 to move in. Of course, they drive each other nuts.<\/p>\n

Jewish community member Adam Abrams plays Roy, a regular at Oscar\u2019s Friday night poker games, in the Metro Theatre production, which is directed by Catherine Morrison.<\/p>\n

Abrams has been a part of the local theatre scene for more than 20 years, including many musical theatre productions. \u201cI also played Richard in North Van Community Players\u2019\u00a0The Trouble With Richard<\/em>,\u201d he told the Independent.\u00a0\u201cA personal favourite was portraying Abraham Goldstein, builder of the Sylvia Hotel, in Kol Halev Performance Society\u2019s\u00a0Two Views from the Sylvia<\/em>,\u00a0back in 2017. That was my last time on the stage, and it\u2019s so great to be back, as part of the return of live theatre, after such a long and trying time for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that, in real life, he is more like Felix than Oscar.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife Christine will vouch for that \u2013 and would readily admit to being much more of an Oscar!\u201d said Abrams. \u201cWhen Felix is fussing over his London broil dinner or imploring Oscar\u2019s guests to use a coaster, I very much see myself, the chef of the family and the one who is always keeping things tidy. After years of sharing a home, Christine and I have negotiated a much more successful arrangement than anything seen in the play. But our relative household peace has depended on us both accepting each other\u2019s style to some degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the character he plays in the show, Abrams said, \u201cI like Roy, though he is somewhat crankier and more blunt than I\u2019d be. He\u2019s a voice of reason for Oscar, imploring him to do what\u2019s right \u2013 stop gambling, and pay his debts. No surprise, as he\u2019s Oscar\u2019s accountant!<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favourite scene in the show is the date with the Pigeon sisters, Oscar\u2019s upstairs neighbours,\u201d added Abrams. \u201cThe conflicting attitudes to divorce \u2013 a mere inconvenience to the sisters, pure heartache to Felix \u2013 and how he both derails Oscar\u2019s hopes for the evening and endears himself to the sisters, is a delight. And, while it\u2019s hilarious, there\u2019s an undercurrent of true emotion that I find touching even as I\u2019m laughing, which I do every time I see it!\u201d<\/p>\n

For tickets to the live theatre production of The Odd Couple<\/em>, visit metrotheatre.com\/the-odd-couple<\/a>, email tickets@metrotheatre.com<\/a> or call the box office at 604-266-7191.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Left to right: Rob Stover, Kimball Finigan, Adam Abrams, Michael S. Weir and Adrian Maxwell in Metro Theatre Vancouver\u2019s The Odd Couple. (photo by Tracy-Lynn Chernaske) Neil Simon\u2019s famous comedy The Odd Couple opened Oct. 30 on the Metro Theatre Vancouver stage. It runs until Nov. 14. We meet divorced sportswriter Oscar Madison (played by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37705,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[7493,2586,5278,255,489,488],"class_list":["post-37704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-adam-abrams","tag-carousel-theatre-for-young-people","tag-comedy","tag-metro-theatre","tag-neil-simon","tag-odd-couple"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}