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Stage

Neil Simon fans have two good choices

By MARTY CLEAR
Published June 23, 2005

Theaters at opposite ends of the Tampa Bay area are staging an odd couple of Neil Simon comedies.

At the University of South Florida's Tampa campus, there's a silly and sometimes trite play that provides the same kind of amusement as a sitcom rerun, with flat but familiar characters and lots of one-line zingers.

But at St. Petersburg Little Theatre, there's a different sort of Simon play, one full of warmth, wit and even pathos.

What they have in common, besides Simon, is that they're both nicely realized, with energetic casts and quality stage designs. So whether people will prefer TheatreUSF's The Odd Couple or SPLT's Brighton Beach Memoirs probably depends on tastes and mood.

This particular version of The Odd Couple is a female-oriented adaptation created in 1985 by Simon. Already it seems like a period piece. The women gather for a weekly game of Trivial Pursuit and spout proto-feminist slogans as if they're revolutionary, which they weren't even in 1985. (There are times when Simon seems downright condescending.)

The entire cast, including Johanna Herre and Aisha Duran as the roommates, plays it earnestly, and director David Mann sets an amiable tone. The pace gets a little rushed at times - a common affliction of stage comedies - but when the actors are relaxed the play is thoroughly pleasant, and Deborah Wheatley's expansive set design has a nice look and enough logistical complexity to enhance the slapstick sequences.

Still, because of the original play, the film and the TV show, the situation, the conflicts and even many of the gags are familiar. And the casting of an Anglo and an African-American as Latino brothers is a distraction, even though Gregory Geffrard and Phillip Gulley turned in funny, audience-pleasing performances.

At SPLT, Brighton Beach Memoirs is a slower-paced and much more sophisticated kind of Simon play, a reminiscence about a teenage boy's family in Brooklyn before World War II.

In contrast to the shrill, annoying gang from The Odd Couple, Simon here gives us a warm but quirky family that deals with real problems, from puberty to unemployment and impending war.

Syd Spate has created a stunning, sepia-toned set, two floors of the family home, and director Christine White makes wonderful use of it, moving her actors naturally and unobtrusively.

Every member of the cast delivers an affectionate performance that's both thoroughly engaged and thoroughly engaging.

Adam Ryan, who plays the main character/narrator, is absolutely amazing, especially in the first act, where his comic energy and his singsong delivery mesh beautifully with Simon's words. Lorrie Lykins (also a writer who contributes to the Times) and Ron Zietz bring a lot of quiet charm to their roles as his parents.

So Neil Simon fans have a couple of solid choices on local stages this weekend. Fans of midbrow formulaic comedy and fans of charming and urbane comedy/drama each have a delightful evening ahead of them.

- The Odd Couple female version, through Saturday in Theatre II at the University of South Florida Tampa campus. 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday. $12 general admission, $6 for students and seniors. (813) 974-2323 or www.arts.usf.edu

- Brighton Beach Memoirs through Sunday at St. Petersburg Little Theatre. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $15. (727) 866-1973.

[Last modified June 22, 2005, 10:45:07]