Review
Barefoot in the Park
Cort Theatre
February 1, 2006
by VanLoan
vanloan@nyconstage.org
Neil Simon's first Broadway hit is getting a lackluster revival at the Cort. First produced in 1963 and directed by Mike Nichols, the play proved to be a career making success for both writer and director. The one-dimensional story revolves around the trials and tribulations of a newly-wed couple and their first attempts at homemaking in a New York City apartment. It is more plot-driven than the later gag-infused works of Mr. Simon but this is not to imply it is not humorous. It just has not aged well. That Corie and Paul Bratter live in a fifth floor walk-up can only be milked for laughs for so many times. That Mrs. Banks, Corie's mother; a widowed, suburban matron, is shocked by all the "Bohemianism" around her is as dated as yesterday's news. The upstairs beatnik, Victor Velasco, was a caricature when Simon wrote him. One begins to question the validity of the revival itself.
Having said this, it is no excuse for the patchiness on the stage. Scott Elliott, usually an absorbing director, seems adrift with the material. His lack of stewardship is evident all through the production. Jill Clayburgh as Mrs. Banks seems totally ill at ease while Broadway vet Tony Roberts cannot muster any of his formidable technique to enliven Velasco. Amanda Peet is far too broad and vanilla as Corie. It is left for Patrick Wilson to capture any sense of comedy. While playing Paul's stuffiness for all its worth (he turns the second act into a one-man show), it's too little too late. The production should have let a sleeping dog lie.
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