Steve Carell and John C. Reilly to star in ‘The Odd Couple’ on Broadway

Steve Carell will play mismatched roommates with John C. Reilly in a new Broadway production of Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple.” Directed by Tony Award winner Thomas Kail, the play will begin performances on March 3, 2027, for a 15-week limited engagement at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. Opening night is set for March 23.

Carell will play Felix Ungar and Reilly will play Oscar Madison. Joining the two are Tony winner Laura Benanti as Gwendolyn Pigeon, Tony nominee Kevin Del Aguila as Roy, Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart as Murray, Tony nominee Rob McClure as Vinnie, Heléne Yorke as Cecily Pigeon and Tony nominee David Zayas as Speed.

“The Odd Couple” premiered on Broadway in 1965, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Art Carney and Walter Matthau. The original production won four Tony Awards and inspired the 1968 film and a long-running television series.

The play follows recently divorced photographer Felix as he moves in with his recently separated friend Oscar, a messy sportswriter. As the pair struggle to share an apartment, their friendship is tested by their opposite personalities, romantic entanglements and growing frustration, turning everyday domestic life into a hilarious battle of habits and expectations.

“Neil Simon wrote one of the great American comedies, and it is an honor and a thrill to be part of this exceptional team bringing this play back to Broadway,” said Kail in a statement. “Underneath the extraordinary humor is something deeply human. Steve and John are two remarkable actors who can make an audience laugh uproariously one moment and move them deeply in the next. We aim to create a world that feels alive, immediate and can clearly express why this play has endured for more than sixty years.”

​​Carell made his Broadway debut in the 2024 revival of “Uncle Vanya” at Lincoln Center. He is an Academy Award nominee for “Foxcatcher.” Best known for his Golden Globe-winning performance as Michael Scott on “The Office,” Carell’s films include the “Despicable Me” franchise, “The Big Short,” “Little Miss Sunshine” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.” Most recently, he has appeared in “Rooster” and “The Four Seasons.”

Reilly made his Broadway debut in “The Grapes of Wrath” and later appeared in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “True West,” for which he earned a Tony nomination. He is an Academy Award nominee for “Chicago.” He is best known for his onscreen roles in “Step Brothers,” “Talladega Nights” and “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.”

Benanti is a Tony winner for “Gypsy.” Her additional Tony-nominated performances include “Swing!,” “Into the Woods,” “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” and “She Loves Me.” Her screen credits include “Mayor of Kingstown,” “The Gilded Age” and “No Hard Feelings.”

Del Aguila joins “The Odd Couple” following his performance in Broadway’s “The Fantasticks.” He received a Tony nomination and Drama Desk Award for his performance in “Some Like It Hot.” His other Broadway credits include “Frozen,” “Peter and the Starcatcher,” Yellow Face” and “Rocky.” His television credits include “Peg+Cat,” for which he won an Emmy, and “Hazbin Hotel.”

Iglehart won a Tony for playing the Genie in “Aladdin.” His many Broadway credits include “A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical,” “& Juliet,” “Spamalot,” “Chicago,” “Hamilton,” “Freestyle Love Supreme” and “Memphis.” His television credits include his Emmy-nominated voice performance in “SuperKitties,” “Maniac,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Hazbin Hotel.”

McClure is a two-time Tony nominee for “Chaplin” and “Mrs. Doubtfire.” His additional Broadway credits include “Beetlejuice,” “Something Rotten!,” “Noises Off,” “Honeymoon in Vegas,” “Avenue Q” and “I’m Not Rappaport.” He can currently be seen on the new CBS series “Cupertino.”

Yorke is known for her portrayal of Brooke Dubek in the HBO Max original comedy “The Other Two.” Her Broadway credits include “Bullets Over Broadway” and “American Psycho.” Her additional screen credits include “Best Medicine,” “Hershey,” “Transcendent,” “High Maintenance” and “Masters of Sex.”

Zayas is best known for playing Angel Batista on “Dexter.” His Broadway credits include his Tony-nominated performance in “Cost of Living” and “Anna in the Tropics.” His additional screen credits include “The Running Man,” “The Bear” and “The Interpreter.”

Simon was a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and four-time Tony winner. His first full-length play, “Come Blow Your Horn,” opened on Broadway in 1961. He won Tony Awards for “The Odd Couple,” “Biloxi Blues” and “Lost in Yonkers,” which also earned him the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His other plays include “Barefoot in the Park,” “The Sunshine Boys,” “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and “Broadway Bound.”

Kail is a Tony-winning director for “Hamilton” and three-time Emmy winner for “Grease: Live” and “Hamilton.” His Broadway directing credits include “In the Heights,” “Lombardi,” “Magic/Bird,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” and “Proof.” He directed and co-created “Freestyle Love Supreme,” which received a Special Tony Award. Kail’s television work includes “Grease: Live,” “Fosse/Verdon” and the filmed stage production of “Hamilton” as well as the live-action film of “Moana” for Disney.

This article previously appeared on Broadway.com.