It's been a very long time since an eight-room apartment in New York City rented for $240 a month, but Neil Simon's classic lines, in his most successful play, are still funny.

Oscar: "I've got brown sandwiches and green sandwiches."

Vinnie: "What's the green sandwiches?"

Oscar: "They're either very new cheese or very old meat."

The Marshall Community Theatre's production of The Odd Couple opened for two performances on Friday and Saturday nights, April 13 and 14, at the Spainhower Building on the campus of Marshall Habilitation Center to small but appreciative audiences. Two additional performances are set for April 20 and 21.

When The Odd Couple opened its two-year run on Broadway in 1965, divorce was barely half as common as it is today. The story, suggested to Simon by his brother's personal experience, is about two divorced friends who move in together to save money so they can pay their alimony and child support, but it's the never-ending battle between Oscar, the slovenly sportswriter, and Felix, the finicky hypochondriac, that provides the comic fodder and drives the plot. Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon starred in the 1968 movie of the same name; Jack Klugman and Tony Randall played the characters for five seasons on television.

Some of the play's lines are unintentionally funny, owing to the 40-plus years since it was written. When was the last time anyone paid 38 cents for a pack of cigarettes, or had a tough time choosing between Mancini and Sinatra for background dinner music? Or, better yet, referred to grown woman as "girls?" Still, as one playgoer commented, it's a play that's "good, clean fun," a commodity in short supply these days.

Director Penny King commented this was her 27th production of the play, and "the 27th version," owing to the differences in the actors and interpretations. King has directed an all-female version of the play, too. King is a triple threat in the theater business - in addition to her directorial duties, she designed the set and helped build it.

Neil Ryall, as Murray the cop, was a standout in a good cast. He nailed Murray's New York accent and attitude precisely, despite his English background. Pee Wee Robbins' Oscar was a little friendlier than either Matthau's or Klugman's, but still very funny. John Ezell as Speed, Amy Crump as Vera, and Vince Lutterbie as Vinnie, all did a great job as the poker-playing cronies, particularly when called upon to scramble around the stage in a panic when they think Andrew Wells, as Felix, is about to commit suicide. Wells' acrobatic version of Felix's allergy and sinus attacks is downright hilarious. And Pam Deutsch and Jeanne Simonton, as the comical Pigeon sisters, Gwendolyn and Cecily, were right on target, giggly and silly, and especially effective when reduced to tears by Felix's tales of marital woe.

Tickets for the Friday, April 20, dinner-theatre performance are $15, with reservations required 24 hours in advance. Show-only tickets are $7 in advance and $8 at the door for both nights, and are still available at Odell Vet Clinic or Adventure Quest Travel.