Return to AARO
The jump from Quentin Tarantino to Neil Simon is quite a long and unexpected one. Startup theatre company Feast of Fools and Producers Michael J. Alessandro and Felica Fowler-Alexander, having made their name with adaptations of Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction have decided to play it safe with their third and final offering of the year, calling on the Bard of Brighton Beach's Barefoot in the Park to round out what has to be one of the oddest first seasons in recent history.
Retaining several of his cast from his first two offerings, director Alessandro has put together a cute production of a hopelessly dated script, and done a solid job playing the part of uptight newlywed Paul Bratter. His character is a young lawyer who has just launched into a whirlwind marriage with a free-spirited, highly-emotional Corie, and suddenly finds himself living in a funky brownstone with odd neighbors and the sympathy of his equally uptight mother-in-law, Mrs. Banks. The usual Simon-esque hilarity ensues, spurred on by their crazy roof-dwelling neighbor, Victor Velasco. The script is an unbelievable homage to the early sixties and a time when lines like "Before we were married, I believed you slept in a tie" were funny only for the sentiment, not the wholesome context we associate it with today. While the text has not stood the test of time as well as some of Simon's other plays, it still has many of those vintage one-liners that work no matter what century they were written.
Mr. Alessandro's direction was simple and sometimes static, but generally effective, although the cast did seem a bit tentative during the Thursday night show. His performance was enjoyable, and he did a good job with the difficult transition between stuffed-shirt and stinking drunk. As the high-strung bride, Monica McCue was acceptable, though a little more preppy and underplayed than usually performed, causing her emotional explosion at the end of the second act to seem forced. This was a Mount Holyoke grad more than Vassar or Berkley, and Ms. McCue seemed less a coffeehouse beatnik-wannabee and more a trustfund girl with artsy tendencies. Marilyn Gibson's performance of the matronly Mrs. Banks did have its bright points, although her character's transition was not quite as focussed as that of Mr. Alessandro's. The always enjoyable Marty Berger did an interesting job with the part of the dashing Victor Velasco, although he chose to underplay a role that is traditionally performed over-the-top. This didn't play badly in the context of this show, though it did have a definite effect on the overall energy of the piece, especially the dinner party in the second act.
A very enjoyable performance came from Kenny Brodie in his small but pivotal role of telephone repairman Harry Pepper. Mr. Brodie was so natural as to invite laughter for even his simplest of lines. In contrast, Eli Bliss was much-too-unnatural and over-the-top in his winded performance of the delivery man.
Mr. Alessandro, among his many other involvements in the piece, also did a very interesting job with the set, which offered distorted angles and odd levels to the quirky apartment. Daniel Brodie's lighting design generally worked well with the limited options open to him in the space. The use of a Bossa Nova-laden music track also helped to set the mood for the show. Despite falling back on an established, rather well-worn script, after some interesting theatrical endeavors, Feast of Fools has announced a daunting schedule for next season. With the creative and energetic force of Mr. Alessandro and his growing rep company behind it, this sophomore season could either be a breakthrough time, or the year that kills this ambitious but overworked showman.
Production Details:
Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon
Feast of Fools Theatre
Viad Playhouse on the Park, Phoenix
256-7898 or 503-5555
June 12th-June 27th, 1998 Check for varied showtimes.
Return to AARO