The current show at Little Theatre of Fall River is Neil Simon's 1963
Tony Award winning comedy, "Barefoot in the Park". The show is about
newlyweds Paul and Corie Bratter, he is a brand new lawyer who just won his
first case for six cents and she is a hopeless romantic who has leased this
high rent apartment. After six days of wedded bliss at the Plaza, they move
into an apartment on the sixth floor of an old brownstone which is full of
weird neighbors, on East 48th Street in New York City. It is the early
1960's and they continually have to climb six wheezing flights of stairs to
get there. They also have no furniture, there is no room for a double bed,
the sky light leaks, there is no heat (and it's February) and their bohemian
neighbor is only able to access his padlocked attic apartment via their
window ledge. When Paul fails to grasp the romance of their quirky living
situation, Corie begins to think her husband is a stuffed shirt especially
when he refused to take a walk with her barefoot in the snow in a nearby
park. Director Jeff Belanger creates a wonderful 1960's atmosphere for this
show with his light green walls for the set, the music including "Winchester
Cathedral" and "Never on a Sunday" and his costumes, too. Jeff blocks the
show utilizing the whole playing area even the skylight over the
apartment. He is aided in his task by hard working stage manager, David
Tinkham and tech director, Shawn G. Elliott with the multitude of props
handled by Janice Farrell and Norene Cruz.
The leading players in this show are played by real life married couple,
Roger and Sarah Duarte. (They have been married happily for 11 years and
have 2 children.) She is a pretty brunette who plays this free spirited girl
who is madly in love with her husband beautifully. Corie wants to talk to
him constantly at first. Sarah runs the gamut of emotions in this role,
going from hysterical to angry to sad and back again. The goulash eating
scene is hilarious and when she pretends to be talking to a mystery man on
the phone, Paul discovers it is someone offering her Bosanova lessons. (I
reviewed Sarah in 2006 in "Mrs. Goody", a show her mother Cynthia Mello
wrote.) He handles the huge role of Paul Bratter wonderfully. Paul is
shocked at the appearance of the apartment but tries to spare Corie's
feelings, however later on after all the craziness he explodes into some
well handled argument scenes with his wife. Roger's packing scene with
putting all his clothes and briefcase into the suitcase is very funny as is
the final scene when he returns to the apartment drunk after having walked
barefoot in the park. Roger on the ledge of the skylight is a laugh out loud
moment as he sings "Shama, Shama" which is "Jimmy Crackcorn and I don't
care" in Greek. Their being married spills over into their portrayals,
giving the show a realism to it.
The biggest scene stealer in this show is Ellen Barnes as Corie's mother,
Ethel Banks. She is hilarious whether she is climbing up six flights of
stairs, delivering rapid fire one liners, popping pink pills so she won't
vomit the exotic gourmet food they have eaten at the Albanian restaurant on
Staten Island. Ellen is a hoot when she runs back into the apartment after
being out all night long, wearing a man's bathrobe and slippers and not
remembering what happened. The crazy upstairs neighbor, Victor Velasco is
excellently played by Bob Gillet. His explaining the exotic food for the
party scene is funny as he pops the food in his mouth after tossing it back
and forth in his hands. Bob handles this womanizing man and his wacky antics
perfectly. Victor tells Corie to flush up because the plumbing in the
building is backwards. Rounding out the cast is John Panchley as Harry the
telephone repairman who wheezes up the stairs in Act 1 & 3. He listens to
the couples bickering back and forth in the last scene and has funny lines
about the beer in the refrigerator. (He played the mean Mr. Frost in "Mrs.
Goody".) 50 year member of Little Theater, John Cummings plays the out of
breath Lord and Taylor delivery man in the first act. A word of praise for
the special effects of the snowfall outside the skylight and for the
elaborate furniture for the second act. So for an enjoyable evening of a
Neil Simon comedy, be sure to catch "Barefoot in the Park" in Fall River,
MA.
BAREFOOT IN THE PARK ( 12 to 15 March, 2009)
Little Theatre of Fall River, BBC, 777 Elsbree
Street, FALL RIVER, MA
