Neil Simon
Odd Couple creator
Neil Simon was an American playwright and screenwriter, among the most commercially successful in Broadway history.
His comedies—*The Odd Couple*, *Barefoot in the Park*, *Brighton Beach Memoirs*—blend humor with urban middle-class anxiety, often drawing on his Jewish upbringing in New York.
Simon's name became shorthand for a particular style of witty, accessible theater.
Author of stage dramas
- dramatistWriter of stage works
- scriptWritten words for performance
- dialogueSpoken exchange between parties
- scenesDivisions within acts
stage directions · revision · typewriter · prolific · autobiographical · trilogy · adaptation · screenplay
Amusing quality
- witClever, inventive humor
- one-linersBrief comedic remarks
- punchlineHumor's final delivery
- timingArt of choosing moments
farce · banter · quips · zingers · self-deprecating · domestic comedy · misunderstanding · running gags
Excessively anxious or obsessive
- schlubbyUnstylish and doughy
- bickeringPetty verbal sparring
- lovable loserEndearing person who fails
- hypochondriacOne who imagines ailments
neat freak · slob · everyman · schnook · kvetch · middle-class · relatable · flawed
Broadway excellence recognition
- Times SquareFamous Manhattan intersection
- theater districtEntertainment venue concentration
- marqueeTheater entrance canopy
- playbillTheater performance listing
box office · curtain call · Shubert · opening night · standing ovation · revival · matinee · orchestra seats
playwright
Author of stage dramas
- dramatistWriter of stage works
- scriptWritten words for performance
- dialogueSpoken exchange between parties
scenes · stage directions · revision · typewriter · prolific · autobiographical · trilogy · adaptation · screenplay · domestic drama
humor
Amusing quality
- witClever, inventive humor
- one-linersBrief comedic remarks
- punchlineHumor's final delivery
timing · farce · banter · quips · zingers · self-deprecating · domestic comedy · misunderstanding · running gags · comic timing
neurotic
Excessively anxious or obsessive
- schlubbyUnstylish and doughy
- bickeringPetty verbal sparring
- lovable loserEndearing person who fails
hypochondriac · neat freak · slob · everyman · schnook · kvetch · middle-class · relatable · flawed · ensemble
Tony Award
Broadway excellence recognition
- Times SquareFamous Manhattan intersection
- theater districtEntertainment venue concentration
- marqueeTheater entrance canopy
playbill · box office · curtain call · Shubert · opening night · standing ovation · revival · matinee · orchestra seats · mezzanine
The Odd Couple
Unlikely duo sharing space
- PlaywrightsWilliam Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, Chekhov, Ibsen
- Comic PlaywrightsAristophanes, Terence, W.S. Gilbert, Oscar Wilde, Hart
- Jewish WritersSaul Bellow, Philip Roth, Elie Wiesel, Sholem Aleichem, Anne Frank
- Broadwaymusicals, musical, Tony Award, musical theatre, theaters
- Stage StarsLin-Manuel Miranda, Sarah Bernhardt, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Judi Dench
Neil SimonEugene O'Neill
Arthur Miller · Tennessee Williams · tragedian · Edward Albee · August Wilson
Neil SimonSamuel Beckett
Bertolt Brecht · experimental theater · Edward Albee · absurdist