New York, 1965: A Queer Retelling of "The Odd Couple"

Karmann Ludwig

Abstract

New York, 1965 explores the complicated gender and sexual politics of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, a story known and adapted by many. Despite being over fifty years old, few have written about the pressures of masculinity and heteronormativity within The Odd Couple; while Oscar and Felix live together and formulate their relationship in ways that mimic heterosexual marriage, most have accepted Oscar and Felix as unequivocally straight. New York, 1965 deconstructs The Odd Couple by pulling the source text out of the world of comedy and into a very real world that punishes vulnerability, affection, and love, while finding expression in the destruction of barriers, both real and imaginary.