OTA finds right fit with ‘The Odd Couple’
Published 7:30 pm Tuesday, April 7, 2026
Pitch-perfect casting paired with Neil Simon’s sharp writing in “The Odd Couple” makes for three weekends of fun at Olympic Theatre Arts.
The friendship of Felix and Oscar (played by Justin Stapleton and Mario Arruda) is pushed to the brink while striking a familiar funny bone from April 10-26.
Shows are set for 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. at OTA, 414 N. Sequim Ave. Find tickets at olympictheatrearts.org or by calling the box office at 360-683-7326 from 1-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday.
A free preview is set for 7 p.m. Thursday, April 9 on a first-come, first-seated basis with doors opening at 6 p.m. Donations are welcome.
Show director Steve Rodeman said while growing up, Simon was considered the king of comedy with his Broadway shows and movies, and when OTA announced their upcoming production, he wanted to direct because he felt there was another level to share about relationships, friendships and supporting one another.
One key to that was shifting the play from a male-focused 1960s smoky environment to a more contemporary 1990s with a wider net cast out for potential actors on a gender neutral basis.
Rodeman wanted to offer potential parts to men and women based on who would best fill the part. It just happened that the strongest auditions were a mix of genders, he said.
Simon has done his own variations of “The Odd Couple,” such as “The Female Odd Couple” with female leads, and a more contemporary version “Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple.”
Some of Sequim’s cast have been slightly rewritten to be played by women, too, such as Murray the cop being played by Christine Palka.
“Everyone has seen the movie and TV shows, and we can get barred down by comparisons, so if we refocused then you can focus on the core of the play,” Rodeman said.
He commends OTA’s Programming Committee and former Executive Director Dave Herbelin for supporting this revised version of the play and being willing “to take a chance to put this in a slightly different dimension than it has been.”
Show details
“The Odd Couple” opens on a friendly card game in Oscar’s untidy apartment, and the fastidious and depressed Felix feeling suicidal, according to OTA’s description of the show, but as the action unfolds, Oscar becomes the one with murder on his mind when the clean freak and the slob ultimately decide to room together.
Stapleton said the show remains relatable because most people have someone in their own life who is their opposite.
“It’s a familiarity everyone can identify with,” he said.
While they may butt heads, Felix and Oscar need each other to discover better versions of themselves, Rodeman said.
“As one of the characters says in the play, Felix gets thrown out by anyone he lives with. He’s just intolerable until he goes through his arc of the play,” Rodeman said.
“Oscar blows through life oblivious until he realizes he’s part of the problem with Felix.
“They have to go through their character arcs to realize their own need to change. If Felix had moved in with Murray the cop, he would have still been thrown out.”
As for the show’s acting, both Rodeman and Stapleton complimented Arruda.
“He always brings such an energy and creativity in any role he plays,” Rodeman said. “(During casting) I just knew he’d be one of the main characters.”
Stapleton has worked with Arruda in OTA’s “New Works Showcase” in short plays, and said for this show they are gelling well together.
“It feels very natural,” he said.
Arruda has seen the original “The Odd Couple” movie a few times, and appeared in “The Female Odd Couple” as a Costazuela brother, a gender swap of the Pigeon sisters in this version, he said.
Stapleton tried out for the show at the recommendation of his partner who thought he’d be good in it. For his version of Felix, Stapleton said he sees some similarities to a younger version of himself but Felix’s need for cleanliness is turned up to 10.
In choosing Stapleton, Rodeman said he gravitated towards him because he had the carriage of someone who can be reserved and still emotionally vulnerable as Felix.
The cast also includes Michael Hochstatter, Daniel Brown, Amy Henry, Karen Twight, and Amber Tjemsland. Clare Wegener is assistant director and Maeve Reed is stage manager.
For more about “The Odd Couple” and other upcoming shows, visit olympictheatrearts.org.
