Huge Crowds Flock to “The Odd Couple”

Mar. 11, 1965 - Hundreds of theatergoers went to the Plymouth Theater today to buy tickets to “The Odd Couple,” Neil Simon’s new comedy and Broadway’s latest hit.

By 10 a.m., more than 200 persons were on line. By late afternoon, spokesmen for the show estimated that more than $20,000 worth of tickets had been sold. The show opened last night with an advance sale of about a half million dollars.

For the 37-year-old Simon, “The Odd Couple” is the fourth success in four years. The others are the current “Barefoot in the Park,” “Little Me” — only a moderate success in New York but now the rage of London — and “Come Blow Your Horn.”

The production reunited Simon with director Mike Nichols, who also staged “Barefoot in the Park.” All four plays Nichols has staged so far proved to be hits. Besides the Simon comedies, they were “The Knack” and “Luv.”

Simon was “kind of numb” and “deliciously delighted” today. “The phone has not stopped ringing for a moment,” he said. 

Both Simon and Nichols were agreed that “The Odd Couple” was shaping up as an even bigger hit than “Barefoot in the Park.”

The new comedy, in the words of its author, is about two men — one divorced and one estranged and neither quite sure why their marriages fell apart — moving together to cut down on their expenses and discovering that they’re having the same conflicts and fights they had in their marriages. Walter Matthau and Art Carney are the two stars.

“The Odd Couple” cost $150,000 to produce. Its film rights have been purchased by Paramount Pictures for $400,000.

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