Seniors to be showcased in play

Jennifer Brookens — Staff Writer
SHERBURN — Two Martin County West seniors take on “The Odd Couple” for their final high school play performance.

Kelly Claussen and Krista Weiss are featured in the starring roles as Florence Unger and Olive Madison in Neil Simon’s female adaptation of “The Odd Couple.”

“Spring is a rough time to do this,” said play director Daryl Lanz. “But we have two students that will be majoring in theatre, and I wanted to give them one last chance.”

Claussen will attend DePaul University in Chicago, while Weiss will attend Occidental University in Los Angeles, Calif.

Rounding out the cast are Karen Suter as Mickey, Mattie Olson as Renee, Liz Alsworth as Sophie, Naomi Posivio as Vera and Sean Crayne and Scott Hemann as the Spanish brothers, Manolo and Jesus.

Those familiar with Simon’s original Odd Couple — which was made into a movie with Jack Lemmon and Walter Mattheau — will likely be able to follow along. Florence, a stickler for details and neatness, is dumped by her husband of 14 years and ends up moving in with Olive, a fellow divorcee who lives like a slob. Some of the details change, such as the ladies are playing Trivial Pursuit instead of poker, and it’s Olive’s false eyelashes and not a cigar that fall into Florence’s pancake batter.

“We have a lot of girls in the theatre, and I planned to use the female version just so we could showcase (Claussen and Weiss),” Lanz said.

Both acts of the play last about an hour, with an intermission between acts. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students.