Del Rey Players provide laughs with spot-on acting in ‘The Odd Couple’

Play Review

A pickle flies across the room as cigarette smoke overpowers the scent of ammonia and Lysol while the so-called Mary Poppins of the group drives everyone else to the brink of insanity. “The Odd Couple,” playwright Neil Simon’s original Broadway hit, opens in the Del Rey Theater tonight at 8 p.m., bringing irritation, sexual frustration and a genuinely unique friendship together with witty and talented performances.

The Del Rey Players production, directed by senior screenwriting major Emma McHugh, primarily follows the struggles that two friends face during their forced, and consequently brief, cohabitation. The environment of a small Upper West Side apartment lends heavily to the tense atmosphere that drives the plot. The set, which initially embodies a beautiful family home later transformed into a bachelor pad in shambles, was designed by senior theatre arts major John Dittrick. Dittrick also plays the lead character, Felix, who is at one time dubbed “Mary Poppins” by a fellow character.