Village Theatre gets comedy just right in 'Barefoot in Park'

EVERETT -- Everyone who makes the trip to the doorstep of newlyweds Paul and Corie Bratter arriveS as winded as the first person to attempt the ascent of Mount Everest.

Such "mountaineers" might include the telephone repair man (John X. Deveney), and the delivery man (Jim Orr), who huff and puff as they collapse at the threshold. The young bride who lives there calls down cheerily and chirpily to them, as they scale the heights. These newlyweds, after all, live at the Manhattan equivalent of the "north face," on the top floor of a five-story brownstone walk-up (6 stories, if you count the front "stoop").

Here, Paul Bratter (MJ Sieber) and Corie Bratter (Jessica Skerritt) are beginning their married life.

Paul is a a dogged, type-A junior attorney. Corie is the epitome of a free spirit who has a touch of the bohemian about her, frolicking about in leggings, boots and an oversized sweater. She thinks the honeymoon will last forever. He, on the other hand, has a profession that competes with his bride for his attention. When she tries to entice him with a new negligee, his mind remains fixed on affidavits.

Such is the premise of "Barefoot in the Park." The ever popular Neil Simon romantic comedy, purportedly inspired by the happy first days of Simon's marriage to his first love Joan Baim, debuted in 1963 on Broadway, starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. Redford had an encore in that role, this time opposite Jane Fonda, when it hit the big screen in 1967. Some 40-plus years later, Village Theatre is lucky, indeed, to have on board director Jeff Steitzer, who steers this production of "Barefoot in the Park" with utter agility and to great comic effect.

Simon's plot lines often present a mismatched couple who, despite conflicts, overcome squabbles to emerge happier than ever. Here, Paul and Corie are that quintessential "odd couple." In addition, Corie creates a second such couple when she acts as matchmaker, setting up her somewhat stodgy mother, Mrs. Banks (played on opening night by understudy Maureen Hawkins) with the eccentric, artistic and ultimately charming neighbor who lives in the attic room upstairs, Victor Velasco (John Patrick Lowrie).

Here you have the comic "parallelogram" of two odd couples. The two button-down types, Paul and his mother-in-law, are each paired with the "joie de vivre" types, Corie and Velasco.

MJ Sieber steals this show as Paul. He is obviously exceptionally well trained in physical comedy, executing pratfalls with exquisite grace and timing. Steitzer capitalizes on Sieber's physicality to highlight the comedy, having him milk certain funny bits for all they're worth.

Skerritt, too, has some funny physical moments. At one point, she shimmies in her undergarments in an attempt to get the attention of her myopically workaholic new hubby.

As Mrs. Banks, Hawkins is the guilt-tripping mother who pops in unannounced on her newly married daughter, saying she just happened to be in the neighborhood on her way home. Never mind that she lives clear out in New Jersey. She is continuously passive aggressive, making references to her solitary widowhood, and sighing about needing to go "back to New Jersey to give myself a Toni home permanent."

Lowrie is utterly charming as Velasco. He has his new neighbors holding their breath as he takes a rather unorthodox route to his place, going through their bedroom to access the ledge outside the skylight, where he teeters along as he makes his way to his attic window.

The '60s ambience of this play is rounded out by some pop music of the era. To evoke the time period, sound designer Don Littrell has tapped the likes of the Tijuana Brass, Petula Clark, The Byrds, the theme song for "Route 66" and none other than the pride of Tacoma, The Ventures. Perhaps inclusion of the latter was a nod to The Ventures' induction this week into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.