By Lynn Venhaus

With its jaunty game-show music and kicky retro fashions, Moonstone Theatre Company’s staging of Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park” is a throwback to amiable, innocuous 1960s-era sitcoms.

Only the Wayback Machine hasn’t been kind to Simon’s first major success in 1963, a fluffy lighthearted comedy about a couple with opposite personalities starting married life. They live in a fifth-floor walk-up apartment in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, which becomes a running gag.

A smash hit that ran four years on Broadway, the breezy trifle was directed by Mike Nichols, garnered four Tony nominations and he won for directing. In 1967, the popular movie adaptation paired Robert Redford, the original Paul on stage, with Jane Fonda as the ditzy Corie, and the sublime Mildred Natwick recreated her scene-stealing timid mother role. The play went on to be a beloved staple of school, community, and dinner theater. It was a go-to during high school speech meets for duet-acting partners back in my day.

But that was then, and this is now.

Sixty years later, it’s flimsy rather than frothy — a period piece that probably wouldn’t make the cut for a 1960s-time capsule if selections were today, despite Simon’s hit-making machine status.

The antiquated attitudes on wives and mothers are hard to surmount – we’ve come a long way, baby. I suppose looking back at the pre-feminism years reinforces how times have changed. But engaging? Not so much.

The dialogue reflecting the time’s societal mores is sometimes cringy. Corie’s widowed mom advises: “Make him feel important. Give up a little of yourself. If you do that, you’ll have a happy and wonderful marriage — like two out of every 10 couples.”

Moonstone has set the show in 1966. The cast tries hard to toss off one-liners with some pizzazz but are hampered by how dated the wisecracks sound.

However, the cast gets the rhythm of Simon’s trademark patter, and the genial performers supply several bright spots because of their commitment to the characters.

Particularly funny are well-known veteran actors Chuck Brinkley, who plays the jovial telephone repairman – back when rotary dial was standard, and a Princess phone was fancy — and Bob Harvey, doing funny physical schtick as a huffing-and-puffing delivery man. Ever reliable, the old pros’ brief bits are amusing.

Appealing performers Luis Aguilar and Rhiannon Creighton convey the newlyweds and do what they can to enliven the creaky conversations, but the thinly drawn Mr. and Mrs. Bratter roles have never seemed so bland. They move in after a 6-day honeymoon, and all the character tics appear to aggravate.

This depiction, when the man was the breadwinner and the woman was the happy homemaker, is simply stale.

While cheery and sweet at times, bride Corie does come off as clingy, whiny, and shallow in other moments. Intended as an early image of Simon’s adored first wife Joan, Corie is not as interesting as screwball heroines of days gone by because there’s not much character development. She’s advertised as a ‘free spirit’ but seems tamer in retrospect.

Domestic bliss is threatened because she fears her fuddy-duddy lawyer husband, who is trying to concentrate on his job, will never be spontaneous, like she is. For instance, he wouldn’t walk barefoot in Central Park on a frigid winter day.

Luis Aguilar and Rhiannon Creighton. Photo by Jon Gitchoff

Faring better, although stuck in the tired stereotype of hovering suburban mom, is Jilanne Klaus as widowed Ethel. She’s in her 50s, an empty nester in New Jersey, and dull as dishwater. But she will soften and lighten up. Oh, the agism jokes! Let’s get the retirement home ready!

Corie’s perturbed that mom keeps sending wedding presents almost daily from Lord and Taylor. Oh, the horror.

The hijinks ramp up when Corie fixes up her uptight mother with the nutty neighbor Victor Velasco for a dinner double date. Starting off with exotic gourmet food and braggadocio, the eccentric Hungarian charms the ladies, but Paul immediately dislikes the international man of mystery.

And the night, fueled by assorted alcoholic beverages and dinner in Staten Island (offstage), gets wild and crazy – especially for the stick-in-the-mud mom and husband. But Corie and Victor are kindred spirits.

Slapstick-y wackiness ensues, and Aguilar deftly displays a flair for physical comedy. TJ Lancaster wisely decides not to go too over-the-top playing the live-wire lothario who lives in the attic. He and Klaus demonstrate they are smart, instinctual performers whose crisp comic timing and ease on stage is a plus.

Those two gave a master class in recalibrating their moves when the pair, mindful of a hump in the set’s area rug, acted nonplussed and went on with the show, careful where they stepped during Friday night’s third act.

When the inevitable blow-up occurs in act two – because Paul is a “watcher” and Corie is a “doer,” the couple’s bickering becomes tedious while we’re waiting for the happy-ever-after resolution. No suspense there. Although the fact they didn’t realize their differences before wouldn’t seem to bode well for the future (nevertheless, the Simons were married for 20 years until Joan’s death from cancer at age 41).

One of the most commercially successful playwrights of all-time, Simon, who started writing comedy sketches in the pioneering days of early television, made a career out of first world problems – only the world never really intruded into his work until the brilliant Eugene trilogy, starting with “Brighton Beach Memoirs.”

His customary white middle-class struggles were usually connected to relationship clashes, poking fun at human foibles and using self-deprecating humor, which frequently included Jewish characters in urban settings.

So, the pleasant bon mots and jokes on the squalor of a tiny big-city apartment are expected.

Only, the set isn’t so small. While acclaimed scenic designer Dunsi Dai’s work is a perfect palette of pastels reflecting the time, and his skylight is certainly a “Wow,” it’s too spacious for a supposedly cramped one-bedroom apartment. (If you have been in modest New York City apartments, you know, unless you assume they’re all like “Friends.”)

And the setting is not practical for stage movement, for Creighton must scamper quite a bit – it’s a good thing she’s energetic because we watch her take a lot of steps as she crisscrosses for unpacking, decorating and scene requirements. In a modern setting, she’d be killing it on Fitbit. Director Sharon Hunter’s blocking seems clunky because of the larger dimensions.

Patrick Sullivan’s striking lighting design capably illuminates the night sky, and Amanda Werre’s sound design is smooth.

Michele Siler’s costume designs are noteworthy, having ideally captured the period’s everyday apparel for the women, and Emily Fluchel nails the props – the suitcases, kitchen wares and knickknacks.

Despite it being Simon’s longest-running hit, this would be difficult to pull off in any 21st century theater because it feels synthetic. Nevertheless, the performers’ chemistry and nimble line delivery elicit laughs.

Like so many other plays that depend on a mundane premise to begin with, “Barefoot in the Park” is an unusual classic to present because of the shift in male-female dynamics. No amount of rejuvenation can resuscitate it, despite this likable ensemble and their earnest efforts.

Moonstone Theatre Company presents Neil Simon’s comedy “Barefoot in the Park” from Oct. 27 through Nov. 13 at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center’s black box theatre, 210 E. Monroe Ave. Showtimes are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., except there is no show on Friday, Nov. 11, and two shows on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. For tickets or for more information, visit: www.moonstonetheatrecompany.com.

Jilanne Klaus, Rhiannon Creighton, Luis Aguilar. Photo by Jon Gitchoff

By Andrea BraunContributing WriterIndecent (2017) by Paula Vogel tells the story of a play written by the young Sholem Asch entitled God of Vengeance, first performed in 1907. It is presented as his first play, but it is actually his second; however, this and other departures from fact are described by Vogel as “emotional truth,” rather than absolute historical accuracy.

“Vengeance” ran in Germany in the original Yiddish and
was translated and traveled to several other countries, but then came America. At
first, Asch’s play ran off Broadway and stayed more or less under the radar.
But when it moved uptown to the Apollo and the general public was going to be
courted to buy tickets, as Vogel tells it, the script was changed without
Asch’s knowledge or permission because it contained “unacceptable” material.

Photo by Dan DonovanFor example, a Jewish man makes his living owning a
house of prostitution while he and his wife and “virginal” daughter occupy an
apartment upstairs. This was considered by American Jews to be anti-Semitic,
since the Jewish procurer was a stereotype and would be reinforced in the
general public’s mind. So would the focus on making money any way possible. At
one point, he becomes so furious he destroys a holy Torah, a great sin in
Judaism. But most controversial of all was what became known as “the rain
scene,” in which the daughter kisses one of the prostitutes and they proclaim
their love. To middle-class Americans, this is pornographic filth.

Photo by Dan DonovanAsch is so depressed he can’t leave his house.
Finally, his loving and patient wife talks him into attending a rehearsal, but
to him, the play is dead. The longtime stage manager, Lemml (Lou) also
considers this is a disaster, and it’s something they just cannot understand.
Even stranger, the play is closed down by the police and the actors are
arrested and tried, but the playwright and Lemml are not. Lemml tells Asch that
he is going to take the play back to Poland and translate it back into Yiddish.
He tells Asch, “I am tired of being in a country that laughs at the way I
speak. They say America is free? What [sic] do you know here is free?”

And so he does and his troupe performs the play in
cafes, attics, basements—anywhere that will have them until the Holocaust
decimated the European Jewish community of artists and patrons.  Asch himself returns after he’s received an
“invitation” from the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s to
live in London and write prolifically until he literally dies in the saddle, at
his desk, writing. Before he leaves, he meets a young scholar from Yale whom he
tells that he, Asch, “lost six million [who] have left the theater.”

Photo by Dan DonovanThat’s the plot, but now comes the hard part: telling you about the production, which is indescribably beautiful (but I’ll try to describe it anyway). I haven’t listed the names of actors who play the characters because they are all played by seven extraordinary performers who not only tell the story through words but also through song and dance.

They are accompanied on stage by a group of three Klezmer musicians, who play a violin, bass clarinet, and accordion to help express both the sadness and joy the audience and characters are experiencing. I’ve only seen four of the actors listed below (Judi Mann, Tim Schall, John Flack, and Paul Cereghino) but I’ve never witnessed any of them stronger or more sure of the material which makes them turn into other people on a dime.

Photo by Dan Donovan

The evocative music is directed by Ron McGowan, Ellen
Isom choregraphs, Phillip Evans gets credit for sound, and Menachem Szus is the
Yiddish dialect coach.It is a clever conceit to have titles on the rear wall to
help us know where we are, and to have the actors use perfect English to speak
their native languages and accented English when they are speaking a second or
third language. The action spans Warsaw from 1906 to Bridgeport, Connecticut in
the 1950s, and as the program notes, “everywhere in between.”

It’s difficult to write about Indecent without gushing, and I don’t think I managed it. But you
know what? It’s brilliant in every way, so a little gushing is justified. It is
both timely and timeless, and I hope you’ll go see for yourself.

Max and Louie Productions presents “Indecent” at the Grandel Theatre through June 30. Tickets are available through Metrotix and more information is available at www.maxandlouie.com

Photo by Patrick HuberThe
Troupe

TJ
Lancaster:  Lemml, The
Stage Manager; Paul Cereghino: The
Ingenue: Avram/Ensemble; Zoe Farmingdale:
The Ingenue: Chana/ Ensemble; John Flack:
The Elder: Otto/Ensemble;  Katie Karel: The Middle:
Halina/Ensemble; Judi Mann: The
Elder: Vera/Ensemble; Tim Schall: The
Middle: Mendel/Ensemble

The
Musicians

Alyssa Avery: Nelly Friedman/Violin/Ensemble; Kris Pineda: Moritz Godowsky/Accordion/Ensemble; Jack Theiling: Mayer Balsam/ Clarinet & Mandolin/Ensemble

Photo by Patrick Huber

Max & Louie Productions has announced its 10th sensational season with two St. Louis premieres. “Love, Linda,” the one-woman musical tour de force about the life of Mrs. Cole Porter runs Jan. 17- 27, 2019, at the Marcelle Theater. The much-anticipated Tony Award-winner “Indecent,” inspired by the true story of the controversial 1923 Broadway debut of “God of Vengeance,” runs June 20 – 30, 2019, at The Grandel Theater.
“We are thrilled to bring these powerful stories, rich in joyful human passion, stunning theatricality and spellbinding performances to St. Louis,” said Stellie Siteman, artistic director.
Linda Lee Thomas was the Southern beauty who married and was a driving force behind legendary songwriter Cole Porter at the dawn of the Roaring ‘20s. Though Cole Porter was gay, their companionship and love lasted through 35 years of marriage and a spectacular, glamour-filled life.
With innovative jazz arrangements, the timeless music and lyrics of Cole Porter weave through “Love, Linda,” examining the darker sides of their life, while also celebrating the deep love that blossomed through their unconventional relationship. The score includes “Night and Day,” “I Love Paris,” “In the Still of the Night” and “Love for Sale.”
Debby Lennon stars and Ken Page directs.
Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Paula Vogel penned the extraordinary “Indecent.”
“We have a story to tell you… About a play. A play that changed my life,” says Lemml the stage manager in “Indecent.” The play in question is Sholem Asch’s “God of Vengeance,” a once forgotten piece of Yiddish theatre.
Set at a time when waves of immigrants were changing the face of America, “Indecent,” a play with vibrant music and dance, charts the history of an incendiary drama and the path of the artists who risked their careers and lives to perform it.
The play is a testament to the transformative power of art that is timelier then ever before. Seven actors and three musicians play a myriad of roles across continents and decades of time.
Zoe Farmingdale, John Flack, Katie Karel, TJ Lancaster, Judi Mann, Ben Nordstrom and Tim Schall star. Joanne Gordon directs.
Tickets for “Love, Linda” went on sale Oct. 1 at metrotix.com and by phone at (314) 534-1111. General admission tickets are priced at $45 for adults and $40 for seniors and students with ID.
Tickets for “Indecent” go on sale Jan. 2, 2019, at metrotix.com and by phone at (314) 534-1111. Tickets range in price from $60 to $40 for reserved seating.
Both theaters are in The Grand Center Arts District.