It wasn’t so long ago that a Neil Simon play was easy to find on stage. Broadway has a theatre named for him, but there hasn’t been a production of one of his plays since a short 9-performance run of a revival of Brighton Beach Memoirs in 2009. Three years before that was a revival of Barefoot in the Park. That same show, which opened in 1963 and featured Robert Redford amongst its cast, is now being staged at The Old Globe in San Diego. Barefoot in the Park will run there through September 2nd.
The premise is classic Neil Simon: a newlywed couple (Kerry Bishé and Chris Lowell) are trying to start their lives together as husband and wife in New York. But a entirely-too-nosy mother, an eccentric neighbor and a badly thought out double date mean that their start isn’t going to be as easy as they imagined. Thankfully this is perfect Neil Simon territory where he can examine the nature of love with his trademark humor.
Jessica Stone directs the production which also features Jere Burns, Mia Dillon, John Garcia and Jake Millgard. Time will tell if Simon’s humor still holds up in our fast-paced, technology-addicted world. But a play about juggling life, love and work sounds like just what the doctor ordered.
Photo by Jim Cox/Courtesy of The Old Globe