Barefoot in the Park

Critiqued by Holly Bartges

Under the imaginative direction of Sarah Roshan, Neil Simon’s Barefoot In The Park comes to inescapable, delightful life at the Vintage Theatre.

When Roshan directed Barefoot during the summer of 2007 at The Denver Victorian Playhouse, it was smashing, but something wondrous has taken place between now and then.

Cast members L-R: Anne Myers (Mrs. Banks), Albert Banker (Velasco), Hannah Marie Hines as Corie in Vintage Theatre’s production of Barefoot in the Park Photo Credit: Sarah Roshan

Except for two, Roshan worked with the same cast she worked with then. If you saw it at The Vic in 2007, all the more reason to see it at The Vintage. Honest. Why? Because there is hardly anything more thrilling then to see a young actor grow in his/her craft, and a cast dig deeper into the characterizations than they thought they could.

Everything I said about The Vic production continues to stand, but this production reaches for a further star out there in the Universe, and grabs it.

Full of hope and romantic love, newlyweds Corie and Paul Bratter have just moved from hotel honeymoon suite to their first apartment, Ok, so it isn’t the same apartment they previewed. This one is up five flights of stairs, six if you include the outside stoop. The furniture hasn’t yet arrived. Does Corie care? Absolutely not. She doesn’t see what is. She sees what can and will be. Does Paul care? Oh my, yes. There’s method to Corie’s madness. Maybe, just maybe the long climb might discourage her meaningful, but overbearing mother, Mrs. Banks, from frequent visits.

Hannah Marie Hines reprises her Corie role. This is one actor to watch. The depth she induces into Corie from a year and a half ago is mind blowing, and she was stunning then. The communication between Hines and Andy Lacerte as Paul bristles with electricity when they’re being the very-much-in- love newlyweds, and when Corie decides she has made a huge mistake and sparks fly with hurt, confusion, and anger. She’s a free spirit, spontaneous, filled with a love for life. How glorious to run barefoot in the park. Paul on the other hand, is a lawyer, intent on making a name for himself, which means paying attention to details, working hard, sticking to the schedule, and solidifying the persona. What? Run barefoot in the park? Why? Hines and Lacerte climb deeper into these drawn together but very different people.

Luke Allen Terry returns as the put upon telephone man, Harry Pepper not at all pleased with his ghastly, flirtatious, heart attack induced climb up the stairs, not at all pleased with having to return to fix their newly installed phone. He did it once; he does it again, proving there are no small roles anywhere. Terry provides plenty of laughs for the audience, making you believe he really did trudge up five flights of stairs, six, including the front stoop, which Corie unabashedly points out, with her inborn enthusiasm. Funny? Yes, without once indicating to the audience he thinks he is. Terry shows his professional adaptability, giving Harry a three dimensional human flavor. You wish Harry would have to come back again and again. Harry wouldn’t want to. Terry knows Harry, and he knows how to free him to leap off the page.

In spite of the out of breath five flights of stairs, six including the front stoop, Mrs. Banks really isn’t mean or vicious, or has any desire to come between Corie and Paul. She’s lonely, and her days are filled with meaningless minutes. So why not buy a wedding present every day? Why not just pop in whenever the mood strikes? Anne Meyers is brilliant, funny, poignant, and delicious. Corie is Mrs. Banks’ only child, and now the energetic woman lives alone in New Jersey.

The cohesiveness of the cast, the rhythm of the play, matches the intent of Barefoot In The Park. Roshan’s set design cuddles onto the Vintage stage, knowing it belongs. Bonnie MacLachlan’s costume choices for the characters and the actors match so perfectly, there is a tendency to forget what they wear, simply because the characters look like they should. Jacob Kenworthy’s lighting design belongs so naturally, it blends in with the total production.

A big surprise comes in discovering Victor Velasco lives in a small area on the roof, and the only way he can gain access is through the Bratter’s small bedroom’s window.

Juicy, uninhibited, with glorious smiling eyes running deep into his soul, Albert Banker brings Victor Valasco so much to life, you almost wish Victor lived just above you. On a tight economic downturn, Victor flows with his current situation, squeezing the most out of everything, adding a magical touch to his life and everyone he meets.

Andy Lacerte as Paul and Hannah Marie Hines as Corie in Vintage Theatre’s Barefoot in the Park

The scene change between Act I and II lends itself beautifully to Victor’s take-charge demeanor. Here is where the moving guys lug the Bratter’s furniture up the five flights of stairs, six if you count the front stoop, and there is Victor dishing out directions for where each piece should be. Intermission tied the two acts together. Banker remains in his enchanted elfin character. Yes, it’s Intermission. Yes, it’s time to get up and walk around to do whatever. But watching Banker as Victor, you really don’t want to.

On the night I was there, a liquor bottle was left uncapped. I point it out only because it serves to remind production companies that even the smallest out of place detail diverts attention. Yes, it caught my attention enough to wonder if the cap would ever be screwed tightly to the bottle. It wasn’t. However, this small glitch that sharply caught my attention never took away from the honest hilarious comedy playing out before me.

Sometimes a play reprised within a short period of time looses its luster. Actors can and do consciously and unconsciously think this will be a piece of cake because “I know the role. I know the character.” Definitely, this is not the case with Barefoot’s prime characters. If anything, they dug deeper, laughed harder, exerted additional effort to create a new experience for a much-loved play. No one even attempted to rest on his or her previous laurels.

Delivery people don’t generally have opportunity to hang around, at the front door or on stage. Zach Cantos makes the most of his visit. A Deliver Man he is supposed to be and a Delivery Man he is. His few moments count.

With so much great theatre playing at the time, I wasn’t exactly thrilled to schedule a play I had seen not that long ago with most of the same actors and director, but was I ever glad I did. I experienced an already stunning production grow into an awesome one. I saw cohesiveness strengthen. I saw an already established beautiful actor develop into an even stronger versatile actor. I saw an actor find his niche as a believable Paul Bratter. I saw a funnily-intent-at-loose-ends mother become even more funnily inclined from lonely and alone to deliriously, uninhibitedly-let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may in love.

I saw a very funny telephone man who had no intent upon being funny come to poignant life.

I saw a displaced man without funds with warm dancing eyes provide keen insight into survival intent to demonstrate living.

I saw growth, and that’s the grandest side effect of all.

There’s one more weekend. Go. Call now for reservations. Enjoy a laugh- out-loud Simon intuitive adventure, and marvel at the cast, crew, and direction.

Barefoot in the Park
By Neil Simon; Directed by Sarah Roshan