"Barefoot in the Park"

September 30, 2011 — I thought the summer theatre season was over until the Mount Washington Valley Theatre Company decided to stage Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park" at the Eastern Slope Inn Playhouse in North Conway, New Hampshire. So on a mild, summer-like evening on the last day of September I found myself in the heart of New Hampshire's White Mountains for a look at this popular Neil Simon play I had never seen before.

The play revolves around a couple of newlyweds, played by Liz Clark Golson and Grant Golson, real-life husband and wife, who also appeared recently in MWVTC's "A Chorus Line." All is lovey-dovey at the beginning, although the husband, just starting a career as a lawyer, can't help expressing dismay over his wife's choice of an apartment, one room on the fifth floor, unheated in February with a hole in the roof, still awaiting furniture delivery the first time he sees it after an exhausting climb up the five flights of stairs. Throw the bride's mother (Caroline Nesbitt) and an eccentric neighbor (Craig Nelson) into the mix and you have a recipe for hilarious disaster.

The newlyweds' affectionate relationship quickly disintegrates into argument, recrimination and ultimately demand for divorce, all this after only six days of marriage. Great Neil Simon dialog, perfect chemistry between the Golsons, and smart comic turns by Nesbitt and Nelson made for a very entertaining evening. Patrick Roberts as a telephone repairman and Melissa Holden as a delivery person filled out the cast. It was well worth the long drive to North Conway.