Abilene App News: Barefoot in the Park Review

Barefoot in the Park

A Salina Community Theatre Production

photo courtesy of Carol Roker - Reflections by Roker

By Karilea Rilling Jungel

It could well be said that just hearing the words “a play by Simon” most of us will know exactly who is being discussed – Neil Simon, of course. For over 50 years audiences of theater, movies and TV have had at one time or other the delightful experience of laughter, and sometimes tears (usually over laughing) over the tragicomedies of Neil Simon’s life-inspired writings.

Opening night for SCT’s production of Barefoot in the Park was January 9^th, with the play continuing through January 25. Get your tickets now, because this cast is spot-on in timing, and Neil’s second successful play’s gift to the audience is all in the timing of its characters. Love struck Corie Bratter (played by Shannon Garretson) is happily into her sixth day of marriage when she finds an apartment and it being “…only five flights up. Not including the stoop.” In her glass half-full world, nothing can go wrong, notwithstanding the hole in the ceiling’s skylight. Her husband, Paul (played by Randoulph Stark Castor) is an up-tight young attorney with only two wishes: to keep his impish and loving wife happy while struggling to concentrate on and perform well with his first court case.

The telephone man (played by Scott Price) has the unique ability to be a delightfully wise and funny man as he helps the young newlywed establish connection to the outside world. The delivery man makes only one appearance (thank you, Michael Spicer) with few words from him as he is breathless with the six floor climb, just to deliver wedding presents from the upscale store, Lord & Taylor’s. Corie’s mother Ethel Banks (portrayed by Vicki Price) is the endearing epitome of a mother who can’t quite let go of her need to direct and protect her daughter, while trying hard not to inject her true feelings of the not-so-spacious first apartment and sleeping quarters. My own favorite character has always been Victor Velasco (portrayed by Robert Jones) as the character is at first the ideal womanizer who soon realizes that he is no longer young, except at heart, and he soon re-evaluates his life as he eases into the unfamiliar life of a family who sees the promise in him.

photo courtesy of Carol Roker - Reflections by Roker

This cast’s rendition of Barefoot was splendid, considering that Randoulph Castor admitted he had not seen either the movie or play. “First off, I’ve never seen the movie. I figured I’d wait until after the show was done to watch it. People are remarking that I do an excellent Robert Redford.”

Randoulph’s thoughts on a fifty-year gap in time are impressive. “In terms of coming at it from a younger generation, I’m noticing how the rules have changed from the ‘60’s to today. I’m fond of vintage art, styles and music; I’m a fan of Mad Men. I always find it interesting that what was commonplace back in the day, you’d look at now and say ‘I can’t believe he said that to her!’ That’s something that’s been hard for me. During one scene in the play where Corie, my wife, is making martinis, my instinct (in today’s world) is to go and help her make them, but back then, that wasn’t the husband’s job. She’s making martinis, she’s bringing me my drink, that’s her job, my job is to take the drink, down it and then complain about my day. I found it interesting as the play goes on that my character moves from a straight-laced lawyer worrywart who finally breaks out and let his tie down a little bit.”

Shannon Garretson took her inspiration for Corie from “my sassy and sexy late grandmother, Dorene (Rietzke). She, like Corie, loved fiercely and dared to be different. In fact, that was one of her mantras. My grandfather Eldon was much like Paul, having to put up with many hare-brained schemes. The use of her telephone table on the set and the overnight case, with its monogrammed ‘DR’ was from my grandmother. Everyone loved to be around her because she made an entire room feel electric.” Shannon continues on that “the advice given to Corie and Paul by Corie’s mother was so sage that it is hard to imagine that the play was written so long ago.”

Eldon and Dorene Rietzke - Shannon’s Grandparents - Dorene was Shannon’s inspiration for Corie
Photo circa 1960 - photo, courtesy of Shannon Garretson

I asked Shannon about the opening night misstep when Randoulph’s character accidentally broke the newly installed telephone. “When the phone broke, my immediate reaction was to think through the rest of the times we would use the phone, and how could we achieve that without using the prop? I imagined that the person on the other end of the phone was ‘now a ploy’ in order to make Paul jealous as he would need a reason for his next line, ‘you’re a crazy lady!’” Shannon, as Corie, then parlayed that mishap by her off the cuff remark to Paul “now you’ll never know who it was!” The audience remained in stitches…and Neil Simon would have been proud!

Vicki Price, mother of three, found it easy to play her character. “Even though this play was from 1960, it’s about being the mom, and as a mom of several kids, it’s a timeless thing. You know, my character is trying to support my child, and (Corie) was a very independent girl…so it remains an everlasting phenomenon, and it doesn’t matter if it’s 1960 or 2015.”

Robert Jones embraced his character by his ability to adapt to the vocal aspect. “The first step in any part like this is to get the accent and I can do dialects. So one of the things when we tried out, was Vickee (Spicer) asking us to do dialects. So that was the first step. Once you have the dialect, it sort of moves you into the person that you are not. I did the same thing with Fiddler as Tevya and Tuesdays with Morrie. Those things really help you find that person. But this character is interesting because the arc of his character changes throughout the play from this womanizing person who is kind of out to get Corie to someone who realizes he’s not really that kind of person anymore; he finds somebody in Ethel who he’s attracted to and has a lot more in common with than the younger person he thinks he needs to go after because of his ego. To me, this character was extremely fun to do because of that; transitioning from a Lothario in the first act to a lover and finding someone he really wants to be with during the second act. It’s a nice ‘Simon-esqe’ part of the play.”

Scott Price has been acting with SCT for 20 years, nearly as long as his wife, Vicki. Theater has become “a family thing. When the kids were getting involved, we started getting involved with them. We followed our kids onto the stage. I probably wouldn’t have tried out for this if my wife hadn’t been in it. We really enjoy the family shows.” On his part he says, “The small parts are fun. They take off the pressure. (Neil) Simon gave the telephone man dynamite, wise lines. It’s fun to be that character where there’s so much inside him that he wants to say to get the young couple to reconcile, but he can’t come right out and say it.”

There is still time to see this Simon-ized rendition of family life – so take it in soon. You’ll be richly rewarded with the benefit and highly medicinal effect of laughter.

For Tickets call the Box Office at 785-827-3033 or visit http://salinatheatre.com/tickets