Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon (1963)

TW: Romani Slur, Homophobia, Transphobia

 

SYNOPSIS

            Corie and Paul have just finished their six day honeymoon and are moving into their tiny five flight walk up apartment. Corie plans on making it perfect despite the hole in the skylight and the radiator being broken in the middle of a New York February. Paul has his reservations, but trusts Corie to make it work. Corie’s mother visits to see the place, not expecting it to be such a hike and Corie gets the idea to set her up with their eccentric neighbor that lives in the attic. Only moments before the two are supposed to meet does Corie start thinking it might not have been a good idea. Still they all try Velasco’s strange knichi hors d'oeuvre which must be popped into the mouth and not nibbled. The stove is broken so they decide to go out to eat and Velasco takes them out to Staten Island to an Albanian restaurant that only Corie is excited to try. When the group returns Velasco and Corie are in high spirits racing up the stairs to make coffee for the group, meanwhile Paul has had to resort to carrying Ethel up the never ending flights of stairs and the two collapse completely exhausted and desperate for the night to end. Velasco insists on taking Ethel home personally and Corie encourages the two to go despite Ethel’s protests. Alone, Corie and Paul begin to argue about the evening and how different their personalities are until it’s decided that they should get a divorce. The next day Corie insists that Paul should move out immediately despite his cold, but his exit is interrupted by the discover that Ethel never made it home. In a panic Corie checks Velasco’s attic only to be chased back downstairs by her mother wearing only his robe and slippers with Velasco nowhere to be found. Knowing that they’re safe, Paul proceeds to leave just as Corie begins calling out to him. Corie regrets driving away and Ethel teaches her that marriage is about compromise. Velasco returns explaining that he’s having Ethel’s clothes dry-cleaned and that nothing promiscuous happened last night and the two leave. Paul returns feverish, soaking wet, and drunk demanding that if either of them leave it should be Corie. He explains that he ran barefoot in the park like Corie wanted and tries to get randy like she asked though he instead scares her into hiding in the bathroom and desperately missing the normal wet blanket Paul. He more or less hears her declaration of love but has decided to climb up the skylight during it. Corie climbs up to save him and they renew their love.

 

CHARACTERS

Corie Bratter – Young Adult, Lovely, Full of Hope

Telephone Repair Man – Mid Thirties, Tall, Heavy-set

Delivery Man – Early Sixties

Paul Bratter – 26

Mrs. Banks – Late 40s, Pretty, Unkept

Victor Velasco – 58

 

POTENTIAL MONOLOGUES

            The closet we get to a monologue is Paul’s self ramblings when Corie goes to Velasco’s apartment looking for her mom. He’s got a lot of stage business during this monologue and it’s only partially to Corie. Most of it is the equivalent of him just thinking out loud without clear direction.

            Aside from that there’s just moments where Corie’s truly rambling, but it might be possible to stitch together lines from when Paul and Corie are really going at it to create a monologue. Most if this play is very dependent on good scene work between the actors and playing around with the set.

 

PERSONAL THOUGHTS

            A lot of the play still holds up after 60 decades, but there’s some dated values like when Paul is telling Corie about the crazy neighbors he mentions a mister and a missus same sex couple in which no one knows which gender they are. Most likely this is meant as a double-edged play on masculine trans women and effeminate gay men or masculine lesbians and effeminate trans men. Either way the joke can be hit or miss in 2021. Paul also goes on to mention that Mr. and Mrs. Gonzales, Mr. and Mrs. Armandariz, and Mr. Calhoun all share one apartment which unfortunately isn’t too uncommon nowadays unless the implication is that all the apartments in the brownstone are studios with only one bathroom and a dressing room. There may be other unfortunate implications in that line. Regardless the play is much funnier than it is offensive using even the most scrutinizing standards.