The Importance of Casting

As someone who would pay to see anything that Neil Simon wrote (or might still write), I must comment on the female version of “The Odd Couple” (“Looking Up Old Friends,” by Barbara Isenberg, June 16). I was fortunate to go to the first paid performance of that edition, starring Rita Moreno and Sally Struthers, and Neil Simon was sitting about 10 rows in front of us, still “fine-tuning” the play with two associates. To most of us, the presentation was funny and interesting but failed to work due to one very definite reason: Sally Struthers’ performance. Had a stronger actress been working against Rita Moreno’s stellar performance, we might have been rewarded with a female version of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau’s hilarious warfare. Alas, Moreno’s wonderful energy was never returned. Simon’s words remain as strong as ever, but, clearly, casting is as much of the game as the writing in legitimate theater.

PETER N. KARP

La Costa