On September 18, the audience may witness a real event in theater history at the Central Theater in Budapest: at the premiere of The Odd Couple, the two main characters, Róbert Alföldi and András Stohl, will be on stage together for the first time.
Other roles are played by such great actors as Róbert Marton, Attila Magyar, András Mészáros, Bálint Rada, Éva Lili Domokos and Mariann Hermányi.
Neil Simon’s Tony Award-winning classic will be seen in a fresh translation, director Tamás Puskás
Neil Simon’s most performed play is The Odd Couple, which could be a relationship dram, but the comedy duo of two good friends, Oscar and Felix, turns the story into an irresistible comedy. The couple, who truly live together in a strange way, like a married couple, who are different in almost everything. One is a perfectionist, the other is a slacker! Worthwhile to see what happens when these two people move in together? Be ready to a most entertaining comedy situations.
“This play is so successful because while our tears flow from laughter, we also experience deep moments and can glean serious life truths for ourselves. In The Odd Couple, Neil Simon depicts the doomed experiment of relationships in its process, like a moving picture. In the end, we understand that the biggest problem is precisely our difference in sexual matters, that women came from Venus and men from Mars, and these two qualities are completely incompatible,” explains director Tamás Puskás.
In the title role of The Odd Couple, written in 1965, we can see Róbert Alföldi and András Stohl at the Central Theatre, who are playing on the same stage for the first time.
“I have to say that we have been working together for 30 years, but he still managed to surprise me, and it was great to rehearse with him, and he played wonderfully. He is an impressive actor – and he helped me a lot. I really like this man and I consider him a very great actor.” said Róbert Alföldi about his first joint performance with András Stohl. “The Odd Couple is amazingly written. It is no coincidence that it has been popular for more than 60 years. And these two roles are great. Neil Simon put a lot into it, from a very deep place, from his own life. It is very important that there is no easy genre – there is truth. And it is important that the performance is contemporary, that it shows the painful, familiar feelings of today’s people, today’s men. Today it is no longer easy to simply tell a story. Today this is what is new. It feels good to play, it feels great to feel the attention that comes to us from the audience.” he added.
“We are both old bikers, Robert and I, we have been friends for decades, but until now he has always been my director, my manager. Now we are finally both on stage, there is no competition, equal playing fields, equal chances. After the reading test, we asked at the same time why Tamás didn’t have the roles reversed, it’s up to us! But of course, it’s better that way! This is how we can really do comedy! Félix and Oszkár: the odd couple.” added András Stohl.
The other roles feature such great actors as Róbert Marton, Attila Magyar, András Mészáros, Bálint Rada, Éva Lili Domokos and Mariann Hermányi. The play will be staged in a brand new translation by Samu Puskás and Dávid Puskás. The set designer of the performance is Levente Bagossy, the costume designer is Andrea Kovács.
Neil Simon (1927-2018) was a Golden Globe- and three-time Tony Award-winning American playwright and screenwriter. He wrote more than thirty plays and almost as many screenplays, most of them adaptations of his own plays. He was nominated for more Academy Awards and Tony Awards than any other author. His childhood was mostly unhappy and uncertain. He often sought refuge in the cinema, enjoying the works of the first great entertainers, including Charlie Chaplin, which inspired him to become a comedy writer.
In 1966, four of his successful plays were simultaneously performed on Broadway. In 1983, he became the first living playwright to have a theater named after him in New York.
No dout Neil Simon is one of the confidently leads his audience towards a whirlwind of entertainment.
Tickets can be purchase on the spot of the theater.
District, VI., 18. Révay Str. Budapest.
Recommenation by Aggie Reiter
RSS - Posts