Neil Simon's 1985 update of "The Odd Couple" — recast as "The Female Odd Couple" — opens Theatre Works' 26th season. Instead of poker, the girls meet every Friday night to play Trivial Pursuit, and the very British Pigeon sisters have been replaced by the hilarious Costazuela brothers. Director Mark Anderson, who also designed and built the apartment set, gives all eight performers a chance to shine in their individual roles.

The show boasts two strong actresses in the leading roles. Karen Bessette DiOrio plays the hilarious, sloppy Olive — a stand-up comic in real life, she delivers Olive's one-liners perfectly. Pat Tulli-Hawkridge is excellent as the uptight, neatnik Florence, with superb line delivery, hang-dog expressions, and a genuinely moving crying scene with the brothers. Their argument scenes crackle with intensity. But the two biggest scene stealers are Shelly Whittle and Steve Slate as Manolo and Jesus, the Spanish brothers — their entrance brings down the house in gales of laughter. From mispronouncing and mangling English words to their wild ties in the first scene and even wilder shirts in the last, they steal every scene they're in. They ultimately defend Florence against Olive with real comic chivalry. The four girls at the Trivial Pursuit game each get their moments: Lisa Forsgard as the tough cop Mickey who bosses everyone around, Ceci Cardoza as the hypochondriac who complains about the Pureatron air purifier, Camille Terilli as the ditsy Vera — whose funniest moment involves her face going into her plate and her glasses flying off — and Danielle DeRotto as the gossip-loving Sylvie. Sharon Charette's costumes are especially comical for the outlandish brothers. So for a twist on an all-time favorite play, be sure to catch this "Female Odd Couple" before time runs out.

Carl Sternheim's farce "The Underpants," adapted by Steve Martin, is the second show of Theatre Works' 26th season. Set in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1910, the trouble begins when the young and beautiful wife of an uptight bureaucrat drops her bloomers during a town parade for the king. Suddenly, the room Louise and her husband Theo want to rent becomes the most sought-after address in town by every man who witnessed the accident. A foppish Italian poet and a nebbish barber vie to become Louise's lover, while her busybody neighbor upstairs wants to live vicariously through the whole adventure. Director Connie Anderson gives the cast the timing and direction needed to make Steve Martin's double entendres and innuendoes consistently hit their mark. Mark Anderson designed and built the set — including an old-fashioned stove for Louise to burn the wieners, providing no shortage of comic ammunition in this sexual farce. Rick Cardoza painted the set in a style Tony described as a Pee Wee Herman's Playhouse come-to-life. Sharon Charette's costumes are outstanding, especially the authentic German-flag pantaloon. Stage manager Tina Brouillette-Smith keeps the many props in order and also runs lights and sound.

Meredyth Waterman is a hoot as Louise, charming the audience with her coquettishness and her comic reactions to her overbearing husband and her neighbor's outrageous advice. Ed Benjamin III is terrific as the pompous, chauvinistic Theo — his bombastic announcements about how a proper German household should be run are wonderful, and one scene in which he appears in his underwear is particularly memorable. Lynn Nadrowski plays the upstairs neighbor Gertrude, making every sexual innuendo soar. Henry Clarendon is a whirling dervish as the hypochondriac Jewish barber Cohen — extremely tall, walking with an imaginary broom up his back, and producing the biggest laughs of the night as a sleeping potion turns his legs to rubber. Paul Sacci is debonair as the Italian poet Frank Versati, prancing around the stage and locking horns with Cohen in hilarious arguments about who deserves to be Louise's lover. Moe Cournoyer plays the grumpy old man Klinglehoff with ease. A rotating lineup of local celebrities appear as the king — including Valley Breeze publisher Tom Ward, Frank O'Donnell, and several Rhode Island TV news anchors — adding improvisational chaos to the closing scene. So for a delightful, madcap comic romp, be sure to catch "The Underpants" before time runs out.

Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" is one of the American stage's great memory plays, and Theatre Works' production delivers it with touching grace. Williams' narrator Tom Wingfield recalls his mother Amanda, a faded Southern belle living in poverty in a 1937 St. Louis apartment, and his painfully shy sister Laura, who retreats into a collection of glass animals as fragile as she is. Director Mark Anderson constructs a two-room set with the dining area on a platform upstage — beautiful blue flowery curtains, a photograph of the absent father — and a living room downstage with gramophone, sofa, a real screen door, and porch stairs. The eating and drinking are pantomimed throughout. Stage manager Melissa Chenail keeps things moving smoothly; costumes by Sharon Charette, with Laura's pink party gown a particular standout.

Tony notes that the 1945 Broadway premiere starred Eddie Dowling — a local actor from Woonsocket — in the role of Tom, a historical connection that gives this production a special resonance.

Edward Benjamin III does a terrific job as Tom, delivering the narration with the right balance of humor and pathos. He throws his coat in anger after an argument with his mother — accidentally breaking some of Laura's menagerie — and shows real love for his sister while displaying the restless need for escape that drives him out of the apartment. Sarah Nicklin plays the crippled Laura perfectly. Her ethereal beauty captures the essence of the role, and she becomes a tragic wallflower trapped in a world that crumbles at her only attempt to entertain a suitor. Kevin Broccoli as Jim, the Gentleman Caller, is wonderful — his energetic delivery and genuine encouragement of Laura bring the stale Wingfield atmosphere to life. Connie Anderson gives a powerful performance as Amanda, capturing the character's larger-than-life Southern persona with a perfect accent. Her "Rise and Shine" gets big laughs; her most poignant moment comes at the end of Act One when she has Laura wish on the crescent moon with tears in her eyes. So for a trip back to when powerful American shows were first written, be sure to catch this topnotch production at Theatre Works.

Tom Dudzick's "Over the Tavern" is the closing show of Theatre Works' 26th season — a warm, hilarious, and touching look at Catholicism in 1950s America. In a cramped Buffalo apartment above a tavern, the Pazinski family navigates nuns, sex, mood-swinging parents, and why they have so many sugar-coated cereals in the cupboard. The catalyst is twelve-year-old Rudy, a smart, wise-cracking kid who starts questioning the Roman Catholic Church and announces he'd rather shop around for a more "fun" religion. Director Connie Anderson mixes the comic and poignant moments together beautifully, with assistant director Paul Adam lending keen insight into Polish family life in the 1950s. Mark Anderson's unit set features the kitchen and living room center stage, bunk beds stage right, and a classroom/church space stage left that reveals a stained-glass window when the curtain is pulled back. All 1950s-style costumes are by Sharon Charette. Stage manager Mary Concannon keeps things running smoothly throughout.

Jordan Hamilton carries the show as Rudy — handling every inquisitive question about Catholicism and every cross-examination of Sister Clarissa with the comic timing of a trained performer who never drops character even in the dramatic moments. His Ed Sullivan improvisation and his prayers to God for help are laugh-out-loud funny. Mark Anderson and Karen Bessette-D'Orio are convincing and tender as parents Chet and Ellen — the best dramatic scene involves Chet and Lydia Mattera's Sister Clarissa, both revealing their characters' pain in a totally believable scene after which you could hear a pin drop. Lydia's nun is a perfect picture of iron-handed authority — her fainting scene is hilarious, and when she uses the dreaded clicker, every Catholic in the audience sits up straight. Amanda Lemire is wonderful as the 15-year-old Annie, and Adam Rezza brings the house down in his first speaking role as the hormone-driven Eddie. Joshua Renaud — Mary Concannon's real-life nephew, making his stage debut — steals a scene or two as the young Georgie. So for a fantastic new play rewarded with a standing ovation, be sure to catch "Over the Tavern."