Brad Garrett Leaves Odd Couple

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/27/05 at 12:28pm

This is odd. I thought he was likely to replace Lane...Is there some backstage conflict we don't know about?
BWW Article

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 12/27/05 at 12:28pm

Yeah, none of the stuff about the new guy taking over say why he is leaving? Can he just not do the demanding schedule or has he got an offer for a sitcom/movie.

[YankeeGal#24]

Posted: 12/27/05 at 12:30pm

Very odd--I'm sure they had previously announced that he would be taking over the role of Oscar and even named a date (in the spring I think). Have to look for where I read that, but this seems completely out of the blue.

[Cabchic]

Posted: 12/27/05 at 12:45pm

I'm disappointed. I have tickets for March and assumed the original cast would still be in it then. Oh well. I wonder if this has anything to do with rumors of a spinoff of Raymond.
Updated On: 12/27/05 at 12:45 PM

[Magdalene]

Posted: 12/27/05 at 1:05pm

Bummer...

[QMAN03]

Posted: 12/27/05 at 1:08pm

It seems like he was in the show for way too short of a time. Anybody know of any "artistic conflicts" that may of been going on.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 12/27/05 at 1:32pm

my take; he's gonna take a break from the show and then be announced as lane's replacement a littlem ore formally than as "garrett is moving up to replace lane" OR he was scheduled for a vacation that they planned for him to return when lane leaves, as oscar

[theatrespaz]

Posted: 12/27/05 at 1:59pm

As I posted a couple of months ago, he is scheduled to do a performance at the University of Arizona on Saturday, March 18. I have a feeling this has been in the works for a while (his leave). I agree with the poster above that this may only be temporary as he'll be doing some stand-up gigs around the country.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 12/27/05 at 3:08pm

January 3 is his last show.

[junglered]

Posted: 12/27/05 at 3:16pm

Too bad. Brad Garrett's performance was one of the highlights of this revival.

[jasobres]

Posted: 12/27/05 at 3:21pm

NOOOOOOOO!!!! And I'm seeing The Odd Couple in February...

[SamIAm]

Posted: 12/27/05 at 3:29pm

When the original contracts were signed, there was some word that Garrett was supposed to leave in January to start work on a spin-off series that CBS was going to do for him. But that fell through so it wasn't clear whether he would stay until April or not. The April extension for him was, I believe, more attractive because he thought he would be taking over Lane's role if they extended beyond April and Lane didn't stay.

But with no word of an extension (and that seeming pretty unlikely) AND the fact that he is not understudying Lane as Oscar, he has probably lost the initiative to stick it out.

I didn't know about this guy. Was HOPING they would grab Ernie Sabella after Charity ends in January, but it was not to be. At least Starr has some experience and his dry delivery should work well in this play.

[Jon]

Posted: 12/27/05 at 4:08pm

Mike Starr will make a great Murray. You'll recognize him from about a thousand TV shows and movies. He usually plays a Mafia thug. He was cast against type as the gentle, goofy bowling alley worker on the series "Ed".

[Luckydave14]

Posted: 12/27/05 at 4:37pm

I am very upset. I bought tickets mostly to see him and assumed when I bought tickets for February that I would see him. And I can't try and find tickets for before Jan 3rd because I'm in Florida. Bummer.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 12/27/05 at 6:52pm

Too bad its not Matthew Broderick leaving.

[Magdalene]

Posted: 12/28/05 at 9:14am

Ouch! I'm just happy I get to see the show!

[SamIAm]

Posted: 12/28/05 at 9:24am

As a dear friend is wont to say around this time of year: "Merry F _ _ _ING Christmas to you too"

When reading your one line comment about Broderick, one wonders if someone put Ex Lax in your fruit cake.

I think Starr will do fine. He has a great, dry kind of comedic delivery!

As for Broderick...he stays...

Updated On: 12/28/05 at 09:24 AM

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 12/28/05 at 10:49am

Having seen the show, I just think it would be better without Matthew.I felt sorry for Nathan Lane, I thought he was wonderful, but his performance suffered because of his costar. Matthew gave yet another one dimensional performance: wooden, robotic and mannered. The show would be much better with a different Felix.

[YankeeGal#24]

Posted: 12/28/05 at 11:02am

I completely disagree. I am NOT a Matthew Broderick fan and think he's been horrible in everything he has been in in the past 10+ years--EXCEPT "The Producers". I saw it on stage with he and Nathan Lane and they were terrific together. His interpretation of Leo is terrific, and he conveys the right combination of warmth and naivete. While he overacts in most of his performances, he doesn't as Leo, perhaps because Leo and Max are cartoon-type characters, so it works well.

In any case, I LOVED the show, and LOVED the movie--and that includes Matthew.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 12/28/05 at 11:04am

I'm not talking about the Producers - I'm talking about The Odd Couple.
Updated On: 12/28/05 at 11:04 AM

[YankeeGal#24]

Posted: 12/28/05 at 12:10pm

OOPS! I see that now and stand corrected--sorry!

Updated On: 12/28/05 at 12:10 PM