Felix has to find a nanny for Oscar, and Oscar' choice,or ideal - either the giggling, but, not competent, Miss HanagI, or an 'apple-cheeked, singing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious-type', is NOT what he gets.
Instead, he meets his match, in terrific character actress Reta Shaw ('cal me Frosty', who has him sitting in a (white) sheet-covered living room; 'Felix: what's with the sheets? Oscar: 'We're having a Klan meeting'.
For those who remember Ms. Shaw, she's built like a tank - of solid stature, with a puff of white hair, and a growl of a New England accent. She's definitely NOT the lilting, soft-spoken Mary Poppins.
The Odd Couple was an 'actor's show', meaning that it attracted top-quality character actors, because of the show's terrific writing, and in Maid for Each Other, Ms. Shaw certainly keeps up with Klugman and Randall.
The Odd Couple is a timeless classic, but, even though there've been repeated attempts to bring the show back, none have had the terrific combination of Klugman and Randall, who ARE Oscar & Felix.
There's many moments of out-right laughter, and many of the laughs come from the brilliant mannerisms, inflections these top-notch actors give, be it Felix shaking his finger, or looking like a hound-dog, to Oscar's manic outbursts, this is a show, which, VERY sadly, today's 'actors' are incapable of.
It's NOT just 'reading lines', as today's 'actors' would do; it's timing, pauses, and HOW lines are read, which make The Odd Couple a classic.
Instead, he meets his match, in terrific character actress Reta Shaw ('cal me Frosty', who has him sitting in a (white) sheet-covered living room; 'Felix: what's with the sheets? Oscar: 'We're having a Klan meeting'.
For those who remember Ms. Shaw, she's built like a tank - of solid stature, with a puff of white hair, and a growl of a New England accent. She's definitely NOT the lilting, soft-spoken Mary Poppins.
The Odd Couple was an 'actor's show', meaning that it attracted top-quality character actors, because of the show's terrific writing, and in Maid for Each Other, Ms. Shaw certainly keeps up with Klugman and Randall.
The Odd Couple is a timeless classic, but, even though there've been repeated attempts to bring the show back, none have had the terrific combination of Klugman and Randall, who ARE Oscar & Felix.
There's many moments of out-right laughter, and many of the laughs come from the brilliant mannerisms, inflections these top-notch actors give, be it Felix shaking his finger, or looking like a hound-dog, to Oscar's manic outbursts, this is a show, which, VERY sadly, today's 'actors' are incapable of.
It's NOT just 'reading lines', as today's 'actors' would do; it's timing, pauses, and HOW lines are read, which make The Odd Couple a classic.
