For those of you who were unfortunate enough to miss Skyline Theater Club’s latest production, I have no soothing news; The school performance of The Odd Couple, was one of the best plays it has been my fortune to see.

This is no excessive hyperbole; after all, I rarely watch plays, and am more of a confirmed movie-goer. Since high school productions usually give cause for wariness, it takes unusually good word-of-mouth to entice me into a traditional theater seat. The notices of the The Odd Couple were all positive, some even ecstatic, thus, at 7:30 Saturday evening, I found myself in the last row of Skyline’s Lyceum Theater.

The Odd Couple is a play written by Neil Simon, who is an esteemed playwright, noted for many excellent productions and the possessor of an international league of fans (this according to the back of the Odd Couple’s program, written by director James Henderson). Though it was originally written for primarily male roles, the school put on Simon’s re-written female version to better suit the quantity of actors.

Its action is entirely centered in New York City during the 1980’s, in one particular flat, and concerns itself primarily with the two main characters Florence and Olive and their relationship. This play is almost entirely filled with female characters, something that results in far wittier banter than usual.

A synopsis of the play’s setup: Florence, a neurotic, obsessive woman, is getting divorced by her husband of fourteen years. Olive, Florence’s best friend, has been lonely in her apartment by herself. She offers Florence a home, and the two live together for some time, igniting comic arguments between the diametrically different friends.

First things first — the script of this play is amazing. Within the first ten minutes after the curtain vanishing into the stage’s sides, people were laughing. Neil Simon deserves his international audience - the man can write one-liners, odd similes and quirky metaphors like none other. In fact I was reminded of a concatenation of Oscar Wilde’s epigrams, talk show dialogue studded with pop-culture references, and the TV show Scrub’s sarcastic lunacy. Even if the dialogue had been spoken by mannequins, I would have been laughing.

Luckily though, this dialogue was enriched by the addition of some of Skyline’s most skilled thespians. Isabela Comerford and Rachel Beck played Olive and Florence respectively, the show’s two main characters. Rachel brought the neurotic, obsessive-compulsive, desperate, hilarious Florence Unger to life, while Isabela Comerford pretty much is Olive, the sarcastic, bohemian, pithy friend.

The supporting characters composed the main duo’s quartet of friends: Emma O’Melia, Caroline Langevin, Holly Griffith and Leah Russell. Each and every one of these actresses did an excellent job bringing out the individual quirks of their respective character.

However, it is stated above that the cast is almost entirely female. Taylor Van Cise and Steven Shuken play two Castilian immigrants who occupy an apartment on the floor above Olive and Florence’s. They become friends with both of the girls over the course of the play. Van Cise and Shuken both don flowing shirts, Cathtilian accent, and — in Van Cise’s case — black hair to play Manolo and Jesus, two very respectful, traditional Spanish immigrants. Their entrance is one of the more memorable moments of the play, as the two of them are standing at the door, with lights at their back, bearing two enlightening smiles.

All in all, The Odd Couple made for a fantastic evening. Who needs blockbusters with leaden, single-syllable dialogue and inexpressive actors on a Saturday night when one can go see hyper-literate, hilarious action played live? If you failed to see it for some inexplicable reason, it is your loss. Perhaps you can make it up by adding the next play’s dates to your calendar.

The Skyline Theatre Club’s next performance is Wit, a story about a doctorate professor in her final two hours of life, finding inspiration in the poetry of John Dunn.