{"id":217139,"date":"2026-03-12T22:59:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T22:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/217139\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T22:59:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T22:59:14","slug":"santa-clara-players-reprises-a-neil-simon-classic-barefoot-in-the-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/217139\/","title":{"rendered":"Santa Clara Players Reprises a Neil Simon Classic\u2014\u201cBarefoot in the Park\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Santa Clara Players brings back Neil Simon\u2019s charming, romantic comedy \u201cBarefoot in the Park\u201d for eight performances, Feb. 27\u2014March 14. That\u2019s Central Park in New York City in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a classic Neil Simon play, and we have a great cast doing a fantastic job bringing these characters to life,\u201d said show director Dave Leon, who lives in Santa Clara with Felix and Oscar\u2014two cats he named after the main characters in \u201cThe Odd Couple<\/a>,\u201d Simon\u2019s third play.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve seen the movie \u2018Barefoot in the Park,\u2019 or even if you haven\u2019t, you will definitely enjoy a night out with these folks.\u201d<\/p>\n

SPONSORED<\/p>\n

\"BrainShare\"BrainShare<\/a><\/p>\n

Simon, a native New Yorker, adapted \u201cBarefoot in the Park\u201d for the movies in 1967. It stars Jane Fonda and Robert Redford as newlyweds Corie and Paul, moving into a shoebox of a walk-up Manhattan apartment. Paul is a strait-laced, ambitious young lawyer, and Corie is the proverbial free-spirited romantic. Will their differences undermine their marriage?<\/p>\n

The play has everything Simon is known for\u2014realistic yet witty dialogue and a likeable, easy-to-identify-with couple with challenges to work out in their marriage, underlying issues that need to be addressed.<\/p>\n

SPONSORED<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve been keeping my eye out for a chance to be in this play ever since I first saw it in college!\u201d said native Santa Claran Sarah Birdsall, who plays Corie in the SC Players production.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to relate to Corie from my own personal experience, which is bound to be very different from Jane Fonda\u2019s. Women have so many more options and opportunities than we did when the play was written, which definitely impacts my interpretation,\u201d said Birdsall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis role really touches my heart and challenges me in every way as an actor.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Jose resident Patrick Idleman, who plays Paul, has never seen the movie.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want my performance to be a carbon copy or come across as a Robert Redford impression,\u201d said Idleman. \u201cSo, the further removed I am from \u2026 the movie, the more likely it is that the acting choices I make will differ and give audiences that have seen the film a far different experience of the text.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leon, Birdsall and Idleman have an established rapport from working together in past SC Players productions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis provides a very good foundation to immediately launch into the heart of what makes putting on a play fun and meaningful,\u201d said Idleman. \u201cI keep coming back to SC Players because I keep finding new avenues to test and stretch my abilities, and I find the community welcoming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe last did Barefoot in spring of 1999, so it seemed it was due,\u201d said SC Players producer George Doeltz<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s one of Simon\u2019s better-known plays, and we hope to attract a good audience. We are having fun doing it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Simon (1927-2018) was a multi-award-winning writer of more than 30 plays<\/a> and almost as many screenplays. In 1966, he had four shows on Broadway at the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cBarefoot in the Park\u201d\u2014the second play he wrote\u2014launched his career. It was his longest-running hit and Broadway\u2019s tenth-longest-running, non-musical show\u20141,532 performances between 1963 and 1967. Simon was inspired to write it midway in his own story of first love\u2014a 20-year marriage to Joan Baim, whose death ended their story in 1973.<\/p>\n

Although Simon is said to \u201cpresent serious subjects in a way that makes audiences laugh to avoid weeping,\u201d \u201cBarefoot in the Park\u201d is a lighthearted romp. Audiences can expect to laugh at love and leave the theater with the hope that, like Corie and Paul, they, too, can work out differences with those they love.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find myself smiling backstage constantly at what my fellow actors say onstage,\u201d said Idleman.<\/p>\n

Visit the Santa Clara Players online or call (408) 248-7993 for tickets<\/a> in the 71-seat Hall Pavilion (behind Santa Clara\u2019s Triton Museum of Art), 1750 Don Avenue at Warburton Avenue.<\/p>\n

Related Posts:
Santa Clara Players 2025-2026 Season Opens with Laugh-Out-Loud Murder Mystery<\/a>
Santa Clara Players Closes 2024-2025 Season with Two Thought-Provoking One-Act Dramas<\/a>
Escape and Laugh with SCP\u2019s \u201cSee How They Run\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

SPONSORED<\/p>\n

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