The Odd Couple

There is no doubt about it—the fall's hottest ticket is Neil Simon's The Odd Couple. This is the first Broadway revival of the classic comedy with men, at least and Simon couldn't be happier, commenting: "I'm glad we didn't do it years before because now we have Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick."

The legendary playwright is not the only one who is overjoyed by the casting coup, eager theatergoers gobbled up tickets to the production as soon as they went on sale. "We knew that everyone we mentioned the project to got excited, but there was no way to predict what happened," producer Ira Pittelman says. "It was like an explosion."

Pittelman and Emanuel Azenberg worked for about three years to get Lane and Broderick to star as mismatched roommates Oscar and Felix. Then the stars aligned and the duo agreed to appear in a limited engagement through April 2. Many people would go see Lane and Broderick do anything, but this production has appeal beyond its above-the-title twosome: there is the famous material, a red hot director Joe Mantello and a stellar supporting cast composed of Everybody Loves Raymond's Brad Garrett, Rob Bartlett, Peter Frechette, Olivia d'Abo, Jessica Stone and Lee Wilkoff.

"The play is tried and true," says Stone, who will play one of the sexy Pigeon sisters. "It's not a sitcom. It's actually a very sweet, poignant play. The characters in it are so alive and hilarious. I don't want to jinx anything, but it seems like it is going to be a ball.'

Part of the fun for those involved is that a lot of the pressure is off--The Odd Couple does not need reviews or even audience approval to make it a commercial success. "But we really, really hope that it is well received," Pittelman stresses. "We hope that what we put on the stage is good and we think it will be. We have a lot of amazingly talented people assembled for this. I am looking forward to this myself!"

THE ODD COUPLE WHERE: Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 256 W. 47th Street WHEN: Starts October 4, opens October 27