Barefoot in the Park

Barefoot in the Park (1963), a comedy by Neil Simon. [ Biltmore Theatre, 1,530 perf.] After a glorious six‐day honeymoon at the Plaza Hotel, Corie (Elizabeth Ashley) and Paul Bratter (Robert Redford) move into their dilapidated, sixth‐floor walk‐up where their first visitors are Corie's mother, Mrs. Banks (Mildred Natwick), and their eccentric gourmet lothario neighbor, Victor Velasco (Kurt Kasznar). Corie unwittingly invites both her mother and Mr. Velasco to dinner, and the foursome end up going to a wild Albanian restaurant. Everyone has a good time except Paul, whom Corie accuses of being so prim and proper that he would prefer to sleep with his tie on. After the couple's first fight, Corie decides she wants a divorce. But when her mother comes in wearing a man's bathrobe after a night with Mr. Velasco, and after Paul has gotten drunk and danced barefoot in the park, Corie realizes she loves Paul and his sane, quiet ways. Henry Hewes observed that the Saint Subber–produced play “was nothing more than a minor quarrel between two young newlyweds spiced with their amusing responses to the sort of physical discomforts New Yorkers find themselves so illogically putting up with.” Yet most other reviewers and the public had no trouble enjoying the refreshing comedy. Director Mike Nichols had fun with inventing any number of comic entrances after the principals had supposedly climbed many stairs and all of the performances were first rate. Coming after the success of Come Blow Your Horn, the play confirmed Neil Simon's mastery of one‐liners, although his gift for genuine comic complications was still to be developed.

Bearfoot in the Park
2006 Revival Poster
Written by	Neil Simon
Date premiered	October 23, 1963
Place premiered	Biltmore Theatre
Original language	English
Genre	Comedy
IBDB profile

Barefoot in the Park is a play by Neil Simon.

Contents 1 Characters 2 Act Summaries 3 Summary 4 Adaptations 5 External links

Characters

• Corie Bratter
• Telephone Man
• Paul Bratter
• Mrs. (Mother) Banks
• Victor Velasco
• Delivery Man

Act Summaries

Place: Top-floor Apartment in a Brownstone on East Fourty-eight Street, New York City

Act 1: About 5:30 on a cold February Afternoon

Act 2:

Scene 1: Four day's later, about 7:00 PM

Scene 2: Later that night, about 2:00 AM

Act 3: The following day, about 5:00 PM

Summary

Its focus is on newlywed couple Corie and Paul Bratter, who are setting up house in a minuscule fifth-floor walkup apartment in a downtown-Manhattan brownstone. Paul is a straight-laced attorney, Corie a far more spontaneous free spirit. The two must contend with a lack of heat, a skylight with a gaping hole, several long flights of stairs, oddball neighbor Victor Velasco, and Corie's well-meaning mother, in addition to adjusting to married life.

Adaptations

Simon adapted his play for a 1967 feature film, starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, directed by Gene Saks.

In September 1970, ABC launched two series based on Simon plays, The Odd Couple and Barefoot in the Park.

A 1980 HBO telecast starred Richard Thomas as Paul, Bess Armstrong as Corie, Barbara Barrie as Mrs. Banks, and Hans Conreid as Velasco.

External links

• Internet Broadway Database listing
• Plot summary & character descriptions from StageAgent.com
• TV series at the Internet Movie Database
• New York Times review of the 2006 revival
• Entire Dialogue Transcript on Script-o-Rama

v • d • e Neil Simon Plays Come Blow Your Horn (1961) · Barefoot in the Park (1963) · The Odd Couple (1965) · The Star-Spangled Girl (1966) · Plaza Suite (1968) · The Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969) · The Gingerbread Lady (1970) · The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971) · The Sunshine Boys (1972) · The Good Doctor (1973) · God's Favorite (1974) · California Suite (1976) · Chapter Two (1977) · I Ought to Be in Pictures (1980) · Fools (1981) · The Odd Couple (female version) (1981) · Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983)  · Biloxi Blues (1985)  · Broadway Bound (1986)  · Rumors (1988) · Lost in Yonkers (1991) · Jake's Women (1992) · Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993) · London Suite (1995) · Proposals (1997) · The Dinner Party (2000) · 45 Seconds from Broadway (2001) · Rose's Dilemma (2003)  · Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple (2004) Musicals Little Me (1962) · Sweet Charity (1966) · Promises, Promises (1968) · They're Playing Our Song (1979) · The Goodbye Girl (1993)

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