Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park, opened at the Three Notch Theatre in Lexington Park on Friday, April 25 and will run through Sunday, May 11. Thursday, Friday and Saturday show times are 8 p.m.; Sunday matinees start at 3:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $15 for adults; $12 for students, senior citizens, and military; all Thursday tickets are $10 general admission. Reservations are recommended and may be made at www.newtowneplayers.org. Light refreshments will be available for purchase. Be sure to make your reservations early, as this is a show you won’t want to miss.
The Broadway premiere of this romantic comedy took place in 1963 with Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley in the leading roles. It closed after 1,530 performances in June of 1967. It was nominated for three Tonys; Mike Nichols won for Best Director. The 1967 film featured Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.
The premise of the play seems simple – free-spirited newlywed Corrie Bratter wants her structured and organized lawyer husband to be more easy-going…easy-going enough to run “barefoot in the park” with her. After their six-day honeymoon, they are visited in their five-flight (not counting the stoop) New York City walk-up apartment by Corrie’s mom – surprise! – and on a whim Corrie decides to “match-make” her with their somewhat nutty neighbor Victor Velasco. Things rapidly become complicated as hilarious situations ensue.
Set in 1963, the top-floor brownstone apartment on E. 48th street is being put in order by Corrie (Chelsea Long) as Act I opens. The only “furniture” consists of a drop-cloth on the floor underneath a ladder and a few paint cans scattered around the room. Corrie eagerly awaits the telephone repairman (John Guisti), who, after struggling up the five flights (not counting the stoop) installs her pink light-up Princess phone.
The set depicts a charming and cozy apartment with three-tiered windows offering a view of the building next door. The bedroom and “bathroom” are located three steps up, stage left, and the “kitchen” is situated two black-and-white-linoleum-patterned steps up, stage right, next to the Franklin stove.
The deliveryman (Joe Bowes) struggles up the five flights (not counting the stoop) with a stack of wedding presents. As he departs, husband Paul returns home from a day at the office, desperately craving time to work on his first case. Corrie is ready to fix spaghetti with white clam sauce while wearing a slinky black negligee but Paul discovers many things that he cannot easily ignore: the apartment is freezing cold (it’s February), there’s a hole in the skylight, there is no bathtub and he likes to take baths, and there is
