Searching for 1960: The comedic challenge of going “Barefoot in the Park”

October 7, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Marni Walsh

Presenting a period stage play can be a challenge on many levels – one that can put you in the dumps…literally.

That is exactly where Director Denis Stephenson and the Tipling Stage Company found the kitchen sink for their upcoming production of Barefoot in the Park, which is set in early 1960s New York City and opening next week at Grace Tipling Hall.

Other set and costume pieces are being searched for in second hand stores, on line at Kijiji, and borrowed from local businesses.

“We had great fun trying to find kitchen and other furnishings from that time period,” says Denis Stephenson. “In particular, a 1960 era refrigerator [was] found on Kijiji in Bowmanville and a stove, again on Kijiji, in Fergus. Fortunately, we borrowed an old wood burning stove from Hearth and Leisure in Mono and Corrie’s (the lead character) kitchen sink came from the Dufferin dump.

“Our lead actress Jess Walker is busy searching Value Village for parts of her wardrobe.”

The set itself presents some challenges as well, says Director Stephenson, as there are three levels and “we also need a skylight. Our producer – set builder Bob Turnbull, who is also part of the cast, is busy working through this.”

“Neil Simon has a string of Broadway and movie successes that reflect the 60s, 70s and 80s particularly well,” says Stephenson. “His one liner scripts are full of humour, but at the same time reflect the drama and pathos that underline the times. His ‘Lost in Yonkers’ is probably the best example of this. Barefoot in The Park, a Tony Award winner, was first performed on Broadway in 1963 and then was made into a movie in 1967 with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford.”

Newcomer Jan Gumulka, a Brampton high school teacher who lives in Orangeville, is the lead actor in the upcoming production by Tipling Stage Company along with female lead Jesse Walker who plays Corrie.

Wendy Walker plays Corrie’s mother, with Gary Walker, Denis Stephenson and Bob Turnball rounding out the cast.

Apart from the design side of a period production such as Barefoot in the Park, there are ideological issues that can challenge the performers and the audience too.

The story of newlyweds Corrie and Paul Bratter, the comedy pits Corrie’s romantic, feminine ideals against Paul’s stoic practicability as breadwinner of the household – nearly culminating in divorce by Act II. A secondary plot, involving Corrie’s widowed mother and a TV repair man, makes for hilarious antics throughout.

Although 1963 may not seem so long ago, it was a very different time – the final days of the western per-feminist movement, an era where women staying home and husbands “wearing the pants” was not only accepted, but expected. Even in Canada, at that time, the province of Quebec had only just granted women the right to vote three years earlier.

So, it can be a challenge for actors and for patrons to relax into the comedy of this bygone era. The “limited success” of the 2000 Broadway revival of the play may be testament to this but, as Denis says, it only highlights the importance of the show being staged in the 1960 era in which it was written – “before the Internet and smart phone era of today.”

And Tipling Stage Company is doing their best to present it in its original form, so that the audience can enjoy the comedy as it was intended in 1963, rather than bend to it.

Denis says he is well aware “the lead female role Corrie Bratter, although appealing, really reflects a 1960s woman rather than today’s liberated, equal opportunity female.”

But he still says, “Neil Simon is one of my favourite playwrights,”

Mr. Stephenson is in good company, Neil Simon is arguably one of the world’s most beloved 20th century popular playwrights. Anyone who has ever seen one of his plays, knows that despite the specificity of the era, Simon’s witty comedy, side-slapping one liners and famous running gags are timeless.

“The plot is appealing and funny,” says Denis “and the characters are sympathetically developed so that audiences will very much enjoy the show.”

Mark October 14, 15, 16 , 21, and 22 on your calendar. All shows are at 8 p.m. at Grace Tipling Hall, at the corner of Main Street and Victoria in Shelburne, except for a 2 p.m. matinee on October 16.

Visit Tipling Stage Company’s Facebook page where you can enter their weekly Caption This Photo contest.

Tickets are $15 and are available at Caravaggio IDA, Holmes Appliances & Music Shop and Shelburne Town Hall. They can also be purchased online from Tipling Stage Company’s website and at the Theatre door. If you are interested in booking for a group of more than ten people, please contact the company at info@tiplingstagecompany.com to arrange a discount of $5 per ticket.