The Blue Valley Southwest theatre department will be performing their first mainstage show, “The Odd Couple,” on Nov. 4, 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m.
The story is about a woman named Florence, played by junior Mackie Louis, who is getting a divorce. Florence’s friend Olive, played by senior Shelby Mohar, allows Florence to live with her for the time being. The comedy centers around the conflicts these two characters experience because of their opposite personalities.
“The fact is that it is really funny,” junior Emily Love said. “It has situations that everybody can relate to as well as great punch lines and physical comedy.”
In order to have this show up and running by early November, the students have been sacrificing their afternoons multiple times a week.
“Depending on the day, we go from three to five,” Louis said. “We usually have Fridays off until it gets to three or four weeks out from opening — then it gets intense.”
The time these students put in is not the only thing that is making this play a success. The way that the Blue Valley West and Blue Valley High students have worked together has also created good chemistry for the show.
“It was definitely a bit of a challenge at first,” Mohar said. “Especially in the rep class trying to assimilate two different theater backgrounds, but we have all blended really well and are starting to become a troupe unique to Southwest.”
Not only are the people working on this production unique, but this show is also different from many shows performed in the past.
“The main difference that the audience is going to notice is that in the past, we have done more dramatic plays where as this one is more comedic,” Mohar said. “But, behind-the-scenes, I have also really enjoyed the small cast, which is different than the previous mainstage shows I have been involved in.”
With all of the time and effort the theatre department is putting into their show, all they need is student support to make it a success.
“Students should come and see the show because it is the first-ever show,” Louis said. “How cool would it be to say that you saw the first show ever? But more importantly, it is a hilarious show that will keep you laughing. And we would love to see every student show up and support us doing what we love and have worked really hard on.”