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<P style="BACKGROUND: #fcfcfa; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>GLTG
deals out odd version of ‘Couple’<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">News-Herald,
Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">This
preview appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald
</I>5/08/09</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><FONT face=Calibri> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: #fcfcfa; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">When discussions of classic American
theatre take place in coffee shops and college classrooms, </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'">Tennessee
Williams’ <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Glass Menagerie</I> and
Edward Albee’s <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Who’s Afraid of Virginia
Woolf</I> usually work their way into the conversation.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The quality of their writing and the
significance of their subject matter render these plays immediately
recognizable, truly distinctive and very popular to perform.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: #fcfcfa; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: #fcfcfa; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'">If
providing pleasure were added to the mix of what makes a classic a classic,
</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Neil Simon’s <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Odd Couple</I> would have to be given
due recognition.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Although comedy is
typically considered a lesser performing art form than drama, that play is,
nonetheless, masterfully written and taps into one of the most significant
social movements of our time—divorce.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: #fcfcfa; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: #fcfcfa; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is also
hilarious.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: #fcfcfa; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>In addition, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Odd Couple</I> happens to be one of the
most celebrated contemporary plays, going from its original 1965 Broadway
staging starring Walter Matthau and Art Carney, to a 1968 movie with Matthau and
Jack Lemmon, to a 1970's sitcom featuring Jack Klugman and Tony
Randall.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>The play is about two
poker playing buddies who move in together to save money for alimony and
discover they're having the same conflicts they had in their marriages. Felix
Unger is a compulsively neat, emotionally repressed health nut and Oscar Madison
is his Bizarro World opposite.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>In 1985, playwright Simon
revised <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Odd Couple</I> to accommodate
a female cast for a short-lived Broadway run starring Sally Struthers and Rita
Moreno as Florence Unger and Olive Madison.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Starting tonight, the Geauga Lyric
Theater Guild in Chardon proudly presents <I>The Odd Couple: Female
Version</I><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">Not
</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">every classic can be so
in touch with its feminine side. Try to imagine John Steinbeck’s <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Of Mice and Men</I> with a Lita instead of a
Lenny, or Earnest Hemingway’s <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Old Man
and the Sea</I> in drag. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>“This play works,” notes
director Tina Burgett-Krause, who is at the helm of the GLTG production.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“In fact, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Odd Couple: Female Version</I> is not so
much a female-based remake of the original as it is a unique play all its own.
<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It explores the dynamic of divorce
from a woman’s perspective, which is a different animal than that experienced by
men, and really hits home.”<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Maureen Tanner plays
Florence, the Felix equivalent, and Linda Fundis plays the messy Olive. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Rounding out the cast of poker buddies
who, in this rendition, play the board game Trivial Pursuit, are Amy Pelleg as
Mickey, Kate Wright as Sylvie, Marylin Young as Renee, and Stefani Rose as
Vera.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Unlike their male
counterparts, playing the game is secondary to talking and spending time
together. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The up-stairs neighbors,
Monolo and Jesus, are portrayed by Larry Solomon and Michael
Green.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">As if this version
did not take enough creative liberties with the original work, director
Burgett-Krause set her production in modern times rather than the 1980s.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>She also decided to make the character
Vera very pregnant.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">“The reason for the
modern rendering,” says Burgett-Krause, “is to create a more truthful depiction
of what happens when a bunch of contemporary girlfriends with different
backgrounds and priorities get together for an evening.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The reason for Vera being pregnant is to
further separate this version from the original.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Plus, a pregnant Vera is absolutely
hilarious to watch on stage.” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Details<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">What:<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN></SPAN><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The
Odd Couple: The Female Version</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">.<SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">When: <SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1">
</SPAN>Today through May 24 (8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays).
</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Where:<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1">
</SPAN>Geauga Theater, 101 Water Street, Chardon.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Tickets: <SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1">
</SPAN>$10 to $12<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Info:<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN>440-286-2255 or <A href=""><FONT
color=#000066>www.geugatheater.org</FONT></A>.</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>