‘Odd Couple’ draws interesting cast
By Betty Bean

One of Nita Buell Black’s major worries while preparing for “The Odd Couple” was casting the Pigeon Sisters. Specifically, the Powell Playhouse founder/director feared that she wouldn’t find actors who could pull off playing the silly, giggly, flirtatious English sisters without lapsing into Americanese in unguarded moments.

But when Lorna Pace and Diane Jones showed up to audition for the roles of Gwendolyn and Cecily, they were pitch perfect. Black was delighted.

“The time was coming to an end for auditions, and I really was getting concerned,” Black said. “But they showed up and tried out and I almost fell out of my seat. Afterward, I walked by them and they were still in that British mode, and I told them, ‘You really don’t have to do that.’”

Everybody laughed.

Because of course they do have to do that. They’re the real deal. While they’re not sisters, they’re as English as a good cup of tea....  More