Arts & Entertainment

Monroe Actor Stars As the Neat Half of the Female 'Odd Couple'

Cynthia Robinson's last role was a singing part in "Godspell" nine years ago

Cynthia Robinson of Monroe, an ordained minister, acted out the story "Ladies First" in the 1970s album “Free to Be ... You and Me” to a man in a Milford consignment shop during a playful argument, when his wife, the store owner, overheard the conversation. Aside from operating Village Vogue Boutique, Karen Quinn-Tanzer is director of a female version of Neil Simon’s play “The Odd Couple,” and Robinson’s theatrics landed her an audition.

Shows will be performed from April 8 to 17 at The Playhouse on the Green, 177 State Street in Bridgeport, and Robinson was chosen for one of the two leading roles. She will play Florence Unger, the neat-nick who rooms with the sloppy prime-time news producer Olive Madison. The story chronicles the two mismatched roommates and their four female friends.

Robinson said she was in the right place at the right time just to get an audition, adding being one of main characters was not something she expected.

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"No, not at all. I thought there were other people there more talented than me," she said of the audition. "I thought I could get one of the female friend parts. She called me on the phone and said, 'How would you like the part of Florence?' I was flabbergasted."

Robinson is interim pastor of Woodmont United Church of Christ in Milford, she said her husband David Kingsbury and their daughters, Andrea, 14, and Olivia, 11, have been supportive of her acting in the show. Andrea cooked meals for Robinson some nights and Olivia helped her rehearse her lines.

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"I think they miss having me around in the evenings when I'm at rehearsal, but they're very understanding and supportive," Robinson said, "and they're looking forward to the show to see what this is all about — to see what their mom is up to."

Dinner and a Show

In the female version of "The Odd Couple" a group of friends enjoy a game of Trivial Pursuit at the apartment of "a self proclaimed slob, Olive Madison, a recent divorcee who is a successful producer of a prime time news show," according to the description on The Playhouse on the Green's website.

Florence Unger, "a stickler for detail and cleanliness," just separated from her husband. She's late to the game and Olive calls Unger's husband, who tells her about Florence's “suicide telegram.” He says she went out that night to kill herself.

Robinson said the women worry and wonder where someone who really wanted to live would go to kill herself, when Florence rings the doorbell.

"Of course, to your friends," Robinson said of her entrance in the show.

"It's not exactly who I am, but it’s alright," Robinson said of her character. "It's fun to play. She’s a nut job."

During one scene, after Olive Madison gets off the phone with Florence Unger's husband Sydney, Florence drags what he said out of her. As a woman, Sydney said Florence is "as crazy as a bed bug," Robinson said with a laugh.

"The Odd Couple" was originally a Broadway play, then a movie with Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau, before it was a TV show starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall.

"I never watched the TV show," Robinson admitted. "Frankly, I never did. This play is written by Neil Simon, so it’s similar to the movie."

In one parallel with the film, the men went on a double date with the Pigeon sisters, while the women in the play go on a date with the Costazuela Brothers, Manolo and Dejesus. Robinson said the men speak classic Spanish, but that the dialect sounds like a lisp. For instance, Barcelona sounds like "Barthelona."

The main theme in the female version of "The Odd Couple" are women's friendships, Robinson said, adding, "We help each other, forgive each other and get crazy with each other."

"It's funny. If you need a night where you want to laugh and have a great time, this is the way to do it," she said. "You can eat at one of the restaurants in downtown Bridgeport, like Ralph 'n' Rich's, and go to the show."

A Creative Outlet

Robinson grew up in Marshfield, Mass., and performed music for most of her life.

"I’ve been singing since I was 15, I was in church choirs and school chorus," Robinson said. "I sang with the Westfield State College Chorale. You had to audition. I think I was the only non-music major, who sang with the chorale when I was in it. Everyone else was a music major or minor."

Robinson earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Westfield.

Aside from singing, she had her first experience with acting.

"The Musical Theater Guild at my college was exclusive and hard to break into, so I  gave up trying to join," Robinson said. "If you weren't a music major, they wouldn't give you the time of the day."

But she found another creative outlet.

"I had a group of friends who were part of the children’s theatre group and it sounded like it would be a lot of fun," Robinson said.

The theater group performed shows for a nearby elementary school, Robinson recalled. Its productions included "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe."

Robinson graduated from college in 1987 and got a job in Dayton, Ohio, where she met her husband. When they married and had their first child, Robinson suggested they live closer to their parents, so their children could grow up with their grandparents.

"His lived in Connecticut," Robinson said. "He got a job at Sikorsky. We’ve been living in Monroe for 12 years now."

Robinson said she only acts for fun and has performed as opportunities arose. The last time she was on stage was for a singing part in a Danbury production of "Godspell" in 2002.

Robinson is an ordained minister and was an associate pastor in Ohio for five years. She has served as interim pastor of Woodmont United Church of Christ for the past two years. Robinson sees some similarities between doing sermons and acting.

"I think a pastor has to have a bit of a desire to be comfortable being vulnerable in front of people, because that is what you do when you act or perform," she said. "You're showing a side of yourself that isn’t often seen. And I think as a pastor you have to be willing to be vulnerable, because you're speaking about truth and that's not easy to do."

"When you think about good actors, it isn't somebody who becomes another person to hide behind," she said. "With good actors, you can see them come through the character. You can see them being really human. You can connect with them. It's not about putting on an act. It's about connecting people to the story, the characters and the actors. You want your audience to connect to all three of those."

Tickets to "The Odd Couple" cost $20 for adults, $18 for Seniors and $15 for students. Groups of 10 or more receive a group rate of $15 per ticket. Friday and Saturday performances on April 8, 9, 15 and 16, will be at 8 p.m. Sunday shows, on April 10 and 17, are at 2 p.m. On "Thrift Thursday," April 14, tickets to the 8 p.m. performance will be buy-one-get-one-free. For information, call (203) 366-4647 or visit the website.


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