This version of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple with female main characters is light, enjoyable summer theatre for fans of Broadway.

Legendary writer Neil Simon had a long list of stage and screen hits to his name, but The Odd Couple remains one of his most famous, with the iconic pairing of Jack Lemmon as fussy Felix and Walter Matthau as slob Oscar making for a memorable and much-loved movie.

Reggae royalty, Ireland’s most famous comedy actress and Cork’s first ever Proms concerts are just a few of the attractions at this year’s Cork Midsummer Festival.

Standing on the sideline with the Kilkenny senior team gave Martin Fogarty a close-up view of the bright lights and the biggest days. Now he’s national hurling development manager, he sees what’s happening off Broadway.

Bandon RFC picked up an All-Ireland title at U16 level last weekend.

Bandon RFC picked up an All-Ireland title at U16 level last weekend. Such glory days are becoming a bit of a habit, says club president Dan Murphy.

An investigation involving counter-terrorism officers has been launched after four mosques had their windows smashed with a sledgehammer overnight.

The black comedy, which also starred Aiden Gillen, is the second play in McDonagh’s Aran Islands Trilogy.

So that’s Friday nearly wrapped up. Here are some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

The Arts Council has revealed it has withheld hundreds of thousands of euro in funding for the Abbey Theatre, amid concerns the venue’s direction has resulted in fewer opportunities for Irish artists.

The enormous success of Hamilton has underlined the enduring appeal of musical theatre. Marjorie Brennan selects the best shows of the year ahead.

Mallow in early January will never be mistaken for Broadway, and the chill in the north Cork evening made it a testing venture for the 2,021 spectators in attendance for Cork and Waterford in last night’s Co-Op Superstores Munster SHL clash.

"Standing before you is a man who has become wildly and absurdly successful writing about something of which he has had absolutely no personal experience"

He will now play a 2 pm matinee show, along with his evening performance on May 31.

Des O'Driscoll shares the latest from the entertainment world

Jackman garnered his first Academy Award® nomination, for Best Actor, for his performance in Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables.

It’s eccentric rather than thrillingly off-beam.

Balmy temperatures, no rain to spoil the party and a minister bearing a gift of a million euro - the omens were good at the opening night of WexfordFestival. Families out for an evening stroll mingled with opera-goers in posh frocks and tux at the hurdy-gurdies on the waterfront and local troubadours on guitar and keyboards warmed up the crowd before the opening fireworks lit up the clear skies.

The musical tells the true story of 7,000 air passengers stranded in Newfoundland, Canada during the wake of 9/11.

The sun was setting over Dun Laoghaire harbour as jazz sorcerer Kamasi Washington embarked on his umpteenth dazzling solo of the evening.

The sun was setting over Dun Laoghaire harbour as jazz sorcerer Kamasi Washington embarked on his umpteenth dazzling solo of the evening.

BGE Theatre Dublin until September 1

The Meath native began his career in Navan as a member of the St Mary's Musical Society.

‘SUPERFICIAL, flighty, witty and effervescent,” is how director, Michael Cabot, of London Classic Theatre, always regarded the work of Noel Coward whose play, Private Lives, is at Cork’s Everyman.

From the Limerick team that lined out at Pearse Stadium, only three — Nicky Quaid, Richie McCarthy, and Paul Browne — have been exposed to top-tier league hurling. That’s a damning indictment of the county’s spring form over the past eight years.

4 stars

Ed Power looks at the state of popular music which is increasingly dominated by performers working their back catalogues to death.

Our regular contributors select their highlights of the year.

4/5

3/5

New accounts filed by Mr Hansard’s Plateau Records show the artist — who left school at the age of 13 to go busking on Dublin’s Grafton St — was sitting on a cash pile of €1.24m last year.

Des O’Driscoll shares the latest news from the world of entertainment.

Eugene McCabe’s 1964 tales of a rich farmer who encourages a neighbour to impregnate his wife was well ahead of its time, writes Alan O’Riordan.

Catch up on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com this morning.

Uilleann piper David Power is organising Dungarvan’s first music festival, writes Marjorie Brennan

Slapstick comedy and tumbling sets provided the belly laughs in The Play that Goes Wrong, writes Ed Power.

Alan Cumming talks Broadway, Brexit, and The Good Wife with Marjorie Brennan ahead of his appearance at Listowel Writer’s Week.

MUSIC NEWS: Radiohead may have got some stick recently for playing in Israel, but Thom Yorke and co are back on more solid ground with the announcement of a 20th anniversary release of their classic OK Computer album.

Could this BE anymore exciting?

Set in the early part of the 20th century, when Jewish people were driven out of Russia because of the pogroms, this impressive production from local theatre company, Broken Crow, has resonance for today.

Gardaí have been carrying out door-to-door enquiries in the south of Wexford in relation to one of Ireland’s missing women, Fiona Sinnott.