When walking through the backstage of “The Odd Couple,” one will find tables full of food, overcrowded dressing rooms filled with hairspray fumes, and a lot of laughter. The girls cast have a pre-show routine of dancing and singing to pop hits while trying not to burn themselves with their curling irons. “The week of the show we are all like best friends,” said junior Sheridan McKinley, “The week before we argued a lot because we were stressed, but now we’re just ready to have fun and give a great show.”
“The Odd Couple” is a comedy about a woman, Florence, played by junior Mariah Olesen, whose husband divorces her because she is more concerned with cleaning than him. She moves in with her best friend, Olive, played by senior Erin Henry, and finds out that they both have very different personalities.
“Our characters are so different,” said Henry, “but it makes for a very funny show.”
Two versions of the play were performed, one with an all female cast and another with an all male cast, with Olsen and Henry’s characters being played by seniors Dalen O’Connell and Max Marquis.
“It was strange not working with the girls,” said O’Connell, “Most of us haven’t seen the girl’s version yet, so I’m really excited to watch.”
“The Odd Couple” opened Thursday night with the male’s version to a large crowd, and the female version that Friday with about the same crowd.
Three of the four leads are seniors and they say the drama program will be strong next year.
“I’m really going to miss everyone next year,” said Marquis, “but I’ve had my time and the underclassmen this year are very talented. I hope to come and see next year’s performances.”