Neil Simon would have been proud to see The Detroit Actor’s Theatre Company’s performance of “The Odd Couple” in Grand Circus Park. The troupe, which is busting out of its community theatre status to professional, fought the sounds of The People Mover, music wafting from Cheli’s across the street, the bustle of a pre-game crowd making its way to Comerica Park, rush-hour traffic and gusting wind that made the scene more fitting for kite flying than performing comedy.

With all those distractions (I never turned my cellphone off, and texts came in with my train-whistle alert and I did not hear them) on top of the guy trying to beg a cigarette from me, the cast was remarkably unruffled and composed. After what seemed like 15 minutes of sorting themselves out at the poker table (with a few props blowing off the stage) and deciding just how “New Yawk” they wanted their dialects to be, the actors settled down to put on a solid “Odd Couple,” helped, of course, by some of the best comedic dialogue written in the twentieth century.

The outdoor performance I saw was a one-off, part of a City of Detroit series in the park. The play performs tonight through August 24 at The Social Hall Theatre at the First United Methodist Church in Ferndale where, I will assume, it will be much quieter.

You’d have to have been living under a rock for a very long time not to know the plot. A sloppy divorcee sportswriter (Oscar) lets his newly separated neat-freak friend (Felix) move in with him. The two fight, clash and argue, but ultimately love one another and become, in the end, married—the way only two straight men living together could be when their female relationships don’t seem to work out.

Part of the problem in tackling this play is that truly iconic performances as Oscar and Felix are baked into our heads—Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in the film, and Jack Klugman and Tony Randall in the TV series.

This critic caught opening night in very trying environmental circumstances. Kevin Fitzhenry as Oscar began the evening a little wobbly, not quite selling it as Oscar. But he grew into the role, and I am betting will hit those best notes the rest of the short run. Jeffrey Vincent does a nice job as Felix, a bit weepier than other Felixes I have seen, but some of that could have been the wind in his eyes. He finds the right balance between manic and emotional, and he and Fitzhenry have good chemistry, which is key.

The ensemble seemed to have the same issues as the leads, taking a bit of time to settle in, and figure out how how loud to talk into the body mics that mostly worked, but cut in and out at times. Brent Bozak as Murray the cop, Neil Willoughby as Speed, Mitch McFee as Roy and Dustin Hayes as Vinny eventually get the rhythm of dialogue needed to get their scenes right at the poker table. Crystal Rhoney and Mandy Logsdon shine as the Pigeon Sisters, the giggly British tarts who live upstairs and serve as the object of Oscar’s lust. Their entrance in the first part of the play gave the wind-blown action a jolt of delightful electricity. And they were just as welcome when they come back later in the play when their cast-mates were also in good rhythm.

The Detroit Actor’s Theatre Company has not been around long. But keep plugging. The actors’ fortitude in the face of all that distraction is admirable. I only wish I could see them work in a traditional theatre space with quiet, good lighting and no flies buzzing at my food. On the other hand, I can’t remember the last time I was able to smoke a cigar while watching a live theatre performance and not have anyone complain.