Posts Tagged ‘Director Tamás Puskás’

Neil Simon’s comedy “The Odd Couple” Central Theater – Budapest

The Central Theater presented the biggest theatrical explosion of the year.

The Neil Simon’s comedy “The Odd Couple” is the performance of the two main characters: Róbert Alföldi and András Stohl on the same stage. Director Tamás Puskás .

Unambiguous, that the audience went ongoing crazy full of laugthers not to mention prehaphs many at the audience felt the scenes as reminder somewhere about their own behavior.

This  marvious performance will ensure a continuous full house for years to come. The two main characters truly deserve the trust they have been given in the performance. However, the acting of the other actors, the direction, the set design, the translation all deserve recognition and a special award in their own right. The director Tamás Puskás deserves all the praise and congratulations for this performance.  Even  beside the auditorium the star-roofed stage of the Central Summer was completely full.  And this miracle is the result of very serious and coordinated teamwork. From autumn, the miracle will continue at the Central Theater, in a stone theater setting. The ticket sales available are running out even though weeks ahead. earliest.

Even though many read,  previously saw on screen …  In a nutshell: The story about two completely different men forced to live together. The main character is Oscar Madison (Róbert Alföldi), a sloppy, messy, divorced sports journalist, who moves in with his boyfriend,, after Felix’s marriage is on the rocks. Felix, on the other hand, is Oscar’s polar opposite: maniacally clean, pedantic, systematic and a bit neurotic. Let’s put it bluntly: narcissistic . The conflict arises from the fact that while both are left alone and need the other’s company, they simply cannot tolerate each other’s lifestyle. Oscar’s laziness and disorder drive Felix crazy, while Felix’s rules and obsession with cleanliness drive Oscar crazy.

Their story colored by the other characters with whom they interact in the play, their circle of friends.  prehaphs , the temperamental Murray (András Mészáros), Roy (Róbert Marton), Vinnie (Bálint Rada) are a group of friends. They regularly get together to drink and play cards at Oscar’s apartment. They talk about life’s things, some as a prisoner of independence, some as a prisoner of constraints , but in all cases in love.  There are few of them, and they are the ones we can count on in real difficulties, ain’t that what they are made for many of us !?!  Friendships that accompany throughout the decades.

The basic situation is also painfully familiar at many points. Separation happens in everyone’s life sooner or later. Although not these times, I like to think back to those friends who were by my side, who pulled me out of sad, difficult times. They gave me a new perspective, helped me move away from my mantras that I repeated over and over again, from self-pity and self-destruction. At the same time, they started me on the path to recovery. Of course, I always made the decisions and actions, but it’s good that I had a supportive environment and help around me. That’s why friendship is a great treasure. And let’s be honest: friendships are tested hard in situations like this.

The story of Oscar and Felix also shows how difficult  was to deal in the past and still today ring the bell with people in these times. However, it is not just a “orderly versus disorderly” comedy: it is also about loneliness, starting over after divorce, and friendship. Behind the laughter lies the question of whether two people are able to accept each other even if they are fundamentally completely different.

The choice of the two main characters is a brilliant move not only because the country moves to their performances individually. Also because they have a lot in common with the characters they portray. Róbert Alföldi as Oscar is a calm, rational, managerial figure, whose calmness is accompanied by careless elegance. He considers what he devotes his time and energy to. And he does not deal with unnecessary things, futility. He does not chase vain dreams. He knows where his limits are, he is aware of his own abilities and how to get the best out of himself . He knows what the optimal temperature is for him, at which he lives his life. That is why he has a hard time putting up with Felix’s strange lifestyle. Because although Oscar is flexible and liberal, everything has a healthy limit, which Felix likes to push. What he pushes: he ruins.

In deed  for Felix  his character, in András Stohl’s portrayal, brought out a certain line from another former star role: “Zaza is the star!” And I felt this not only because of the similarity of the portrayed character, but also because of the burning and spinning at a thousand degrees, which is usual with Stohl. He performs at a thousand percent, he makes no mistakes. He takes on serious physical, mental and nervous demands every blessed evening. He exposes his soul to us, the audience, and we feel every bit of his struggle his everything. Very few actors are capable of this. But it is these two geniuses that are needed for the audience to arrive at the performance with insatiable curiosity. This is also the case with The Odd Couple, which is actually a lovable, situational comedy about two friends who need each other’s help, but in the meantime, living together almost drives each other crazy.

And there are also the Dove Girls: Gertrud (Mariann Hermányi) and Cecilia (Éva Lili Domokos) bring a lot life to the story. Of course, as soon as they come into the picture, everything starts to revolve around them. However, the truly surprising twists and turns come towards the end of the story, when Felix begins to change and Oscar also realizes something. The performance of the Central Theater will tell you what this change means in each of their lives, what the time spent together has brought to Oscar and what to Felix.

Most probably, we will realize that the two of them are not so strangers after all for us.  We are are alittle bit odd in our own ways, but that’s alright – right?

Be aware tickets are shooting out as fast than you can imagen. Give it a try to reserve yours for the next available tickets, that will be going for November – on the spot of the theater’s ticket booth. Good Luck.

Riport by Aggie Reiter

Legendary comedy “The Odd Couple” will be coming to the Central Theater @ Budapest

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

Premiere February, 8. – “The Circles of a Proof” – Budapest Central Theater.

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Centrál Theater

District, VI., 18, Révay Street Budapest.

Director Tamás Puskás gives us this beautiful, dramatic story with great preparation, sparkling joy and passion. As said a day before the premiere to the invited media representative Q.: “If I can transfer even half of this enthusiasm to the audience with this drama play, it will be very useful. for us, actors.”

In a nutshell: In the shadow of a powerful parent, how can a child prove herself? The daughter of a brilliant but mentally unstable father, disturbed mathematician, recently deceased. After his death, she is left alone with her deep pain along with her father’s notes and the question what to do with herself, who fears she may have inherited his madness or genius? Complicating matters are one of her father’s ex-students Tom, who appears studying the old man’s notes. Her sister, Claire, feels she must take control of her sister’s fate, who shows up to help settle her affairs.

David Auburn’s play was commissioned by the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick as a result of a theater development project. The drama premiered Off Broadway in 2000, and really soon transferred to Broadway. It has been performed there more than 900 times, making it the longest-running Broadway play of the 21st century. The play won the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Prize for Best Play in 2001. The play was adapted into a film by John Madden in 2005 as “Proof” starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Gwyneth Paltrow .

The premiere of The Circles of a Proof will be on February 8th at the Budapest Central Theater, directed by Tamás Puskás, starring Júlia Szász, Ottó Lajos Horváth, Eszter Balla and Dávid Puskás. The set designer: Levente Bagossy, the costume designer: Andrea Kovács, and lighting designer: Gergely Friedrich.

Tickets available on thr spot … english purchasing tickets: https://centralszinhaz.jegyx1.hu/esemeny/7748/egy-bizonyitas-korvonalai/2025-02-09-19-30

Riport and snaps by Aggie Reiter