The River Region Drama Guild will present “The Odd Couple” at the River Region Performing Arts and Cultural Center on River Road in Norco on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1-Nov. 2. Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1, with matinee performances at 2 p.m. on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2.
Tickets start at $15 and are on sale at www.rrpa.org.
This is the directorial debut for Justin Florent Rogers, a graduate of Hahnville High Schools and its Talented Theatre program. Rogers has performed with the River Region Drama Guild since he was 13 years old. He acted in recent productions of “Matilda,” “Alice by Heart,” and “Little Shop of Horrors.”
The cast of “The Odd Couple” features six members of the St. Charles Parish community. Three students from Destrehan High School will serve on the backstage crew: Stage Manager Coby Trosclair, Assistant Stage Manager Sage McTee, and Prop Master Beau DeRoche.
“The Odd Couple” by Neil Simon is a comedy about two mismatched roommates: Felix Ungar, a fussy, neat freak, and Oscar Madison, a carefree, sloppy sportswriter. After Felix’s divorce, he moves in with Oscar, leading to a clashing of personalities and chaotic living conditions.
Erika Spengler, a board member for the River Region Drama Guild, said “The Odd Couple” explores themes of friendship, tolerance and the chaos of coexisting with someone totally different from you.
“‘The Odd Couple’ is still relevant for today in that at its core it’s about two very different people learning to compromise and accept each other’s differences,” Spengler said. “Plus, it’s a comedy and everyone loves a comedy.”
The theater is located at 15146 River Road in Norco, formally the Goodhope School, Spengler said.
“We are always excited for theater goers to enjoy the theatre space we have lovingly created at the River Region Performing Arts and Cultural Center,” Spengler said.
The cast range in ages from 18 to 65, and includes Mitchell Kogan, Trey Lowry, Kevin Smathers, Violet Keller, Kathryn Salvaggio, Evan Johnson, Joyce Lucurto, Diavion Janae, Averi Rojas, Alaina Markey, and Jaden House.
Rojas is also the assistant director of the show. The producer is Julianna Harding, a RRDG board member and secretary.
The River Region Drama Guild, which was founded in 1994, is a non-profit community theater. It’s led by President Steven Fontenot and Vice President Ross Champagne. Other board members are Carolyn Berger, Darby Berthelot, Christina Cross, Justin Freitag, Kelli Hebert, Shelly Keller, Brandi LeBlanc, Sal Michon, Spengler and Eddie Wallace.
Each year, the guild presents a full stage summer musical featuring family friendly classics like “Annie” and “Cinderella.” Through workshops in the summer and winter, young performers can hone their theater skills and perform in a youth show.
“Since 2021, we have increased the number of events we host in our intimate theater space within the River Region Performing Arts and Cultural Center,” Spengler said. “Throughout the year we host cabaret nights where performers of all ages share a favorite song or two. We also aim to produce two non-musical plays a year, fall and spring, featuring smaller casts.”
Performances are supported in part by grants from the United Way of St. Charles, the Louisiana Office of Cultural Development Division of the Arts, Recreation and Tourism in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the Bayou Region Arts Council.
The guild will present “Finding Nemo, Kids” Dec. 13-14, “Pop Music Cabaret” Jan. 10 and “Six: Teen Edition” Jan. 29 – Feb. 1.
For more information, residents can visit www.rrpa.org, email rrdginc@rrpa.org, or call 985-224-3562. The RRDG is also on Facebook.
