Barefoot in the Park Explores the Timeless Struggles of Young Love

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Barefoot in the Park Explores the Timeless Struggles of Young Love Barefoot in the Park, which recently opened at Trinity Repertory Company, is a silly, lightweight confection that coasts on the appeal of the stars: real-life engaged couple Rebecca Gibel and Charlie Thurston. Gibel and Thurston play Corie and Paul, newlyweds who move into a fifth floor apartment in New York City. The place is threadbare: no furniture, no heat and no bathtub, with a leaky closet, and a hole in the skylight. And there is a running gag of characters nearly collapsing from exhaustion after climbing up five flights of stairs. Corie is a bit ditzy – she packs firewood in her suitcase and wears frilly lingerie. Paul is a straight-laced lawyer who won’t walk “barefoot in the park” to Corie’s disappointment. After a wild night at an Albanian restaurant on Staten Island, Paul and Corie decide to get a divorce. As in his other shows including The Odd Couple and Laughter on the 23rd Floor, playwright Neil Simon proves he is a master at crafting funny dialogue and wacky, larger-than-life personalities. Gibel and Thurston are both charming and hilarious in their roles, and Thurston proves he can do slapstick when an intoxicated Paul effortlessly slides from the living room coach onto the floor. There are some terrific supporting performances from Phyllis Kay as Corie’s sex-starved mother who lives in New Jersey, and Stephen Berenson channels Nathan Lane as the oily upstairs neighbor Victor Velasco. Uche Elueze has some fun as a telephone repair man who pays a visit to Corie and Paul. The set design by Daniel Zimmerman is stunning. Corie and Paul’s apartment is smashing eye candy. It looks like the kind of place a young couple would live in. For this production, there are retractable brick walls that open and close at the beginnings and ends of the three acts, making us believe we are seeing the exterior of an apartment building. Barefoot in the Park was first produced for the stage in the 1960s. Although the theme of mismatched husbands and wives remains timeless, some of the cultural references could have been updated. For example, how many theatregoers know who Douglas Fairbanks and Arthur Murray are? Barefoot in the Park doesn’t feature any deep insights into human nature or society. It sets out to be an amusing farce and at that, it succeeds. Barefoot in the Park runs through Dec 21 at Trinity Rep. Tickets and subscriptions are on sale now at trinityrep.com, by calling 401.351.4242 or at the theater’s box office at 201 Washington St, Providence..

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Play-Guide Sunshine-Boys-FNL.Pdf
TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT ATC 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAY 2 SYNOPSIS 2 MEET THE CREATOR 2 MEET THE CHARACTERS 4 COMMENTS ON THE PLAY 4 COMMENTS ON THE PLAYWRIGHT 6 THE HISTORY OF VAUDEVILLE 7 FamOUS VAUDEVILLIANS 9 A VAUDEVILLE EXCERPT: WEBER AND FIELDS 11 MEDIA TRANSITIONS: THE END OF AN ERA 12 REFERENCES IN THE PLAY 13 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES 19 The Sunshine Boys Play Guide written and compiled by Katherine Monberg, ATC Literary Assistant. Discussion questions and activities provided by April Jackson, Education Manager, Amber Tibbitts and Bryanna Patrick, Education Associates Support for ATC’s education and community programming has been provided by: APS John and Helen Murphy Foundation The Maurice and Meta Gross Arizona Commission on the Arts National Endowment for the Arts Foundation Bank of America Foundation Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Blue Cross Blue Shield Arizona PICOR Charitable Foundation The Stocker Foundation City of Glendale Rosemont Copper The William l and Ruth T. Pendleton Community Foundation for Southern Arizona Stonewall Foundation Memorial Fund Cox Charities Target Tucson Medical Center Downtown Tucson Partnership The Boeing Company Tucson Pima Arts Council Enterprise Holdings Foundation The Donald Pitt Family Foundation Wells Fargo Ford Motor Company Fund The Johnson Family Foundation, Inc Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Foundation The Lovell Foundation JPMorgan Chase The Marshall Foundation ABOUT ATC Arizona Theatre Company is a professional, not-for-profit
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Comedy; *Content Analysis; *Drama; *Literary Criticism; *Playwriting; Stereotypes Specifically Examines "God's Favorite,&Qu
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The Keep Eastern Illinois University
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Barefoot in the Park
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Program for "Barefoot in the Park;" Sept. 9-14, 1969
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