Love, marriage and a fifth-floor walk-up apartment

By Unsie Zuege

Experience the ’60s all over again. Or if you were too young to remember, come to immerse yourself in the sights, sounds and lives of a young married couple living in Manhattan in the ’60s. And since it’s a Neil Simon play, you know it also will be zany and funny.

The EP Players present “Barefoot in the Park” by Neil Simon for two weekends, beginning Friday, Feb. 16. Those who haven’t seen the play may remember the 1967 film version with Robert Redford as “Paul” and Jane Fonda as “Corie.”

Director Liz Michaelson and the cast and crew have had a blast scrounging for Sixties-era props and costumes like Princess telephones, mod home accessories in both earthtones and Pop Art colors, vintage clothing (some from Michaelson’s own storage boxes), and recording a soundtrack of Sixties music.

“Barefoot in the Park” is about newlyweds Paul and Corie Bratter who find a tiny fifth-story walkup apartment to begin married life. The apartment is tiny, perfect for two people in love, but a claustrophobic disaster when they begin quarreling. Lively, bouncy Corie and serious, staid Paul find that the close quarters magnify their differences. When Corie’s mother, an upstairs neighbor, and a telephone repair man are thrown into the mix, the result is comedy. And, while the five flights of stairs are never seen, they play a key role, too.  

Kjersten Johnson and Jason Dugan play “Corie” and “Paul.” Both actors appeared in the EP Players’ One-Act Plays last fall. Johnson of Eden Prairie caught the acting bug when she participated in her church’s theatrical productions. Dugan of Plymouth is in advertising and marketing, but finds that he likes being sidetracked with community theater opportunities.

Joe Brisbois of Eden Prairie is in his first role as the Telephone Repair Man. The character provides comic relief when he arrives on the scene, after a torturous five-story climb. Doug White plays Victor Velasco, an older man who enjoys a flirtation with Corie’s mom, Ethel.

Corie, but older

Susan Muhrer of Eden Prairie plays “Ethel,” but finds that she sometimes says “Corie’s” lines.

It’s an easy thing to do as Muhrer played “Corie” nearly 30 years ago, when she lived in Los Angeles. Muhrer has appeared in other EP Players productions, most recently as the murder victim in “Murder at the Banquet.”

“I was only on for 10 minutes,” Muhrer said with a laugh. “But as a dead person. I didn’t move a muscle and no one saw me breathing. And I had a tiara on my head.”

Muhrer grew up in Los Angeles where everyone considers a career in show business at some point. She did nonunion work, training films, commercials, once appearing in a Pillsbury commercial. At 22, she won the part of “Corie” with the Glendale Center Theater’s production of “Barefoot in the Park.”

She did two runs of the show, each running five weeks, five nights a week and two shows on Sundays. During one of the productions, she played opposite her mom, who played “Ethel.”

Muhrer continued to dabble in theater when her family moved, first to Colorado, then Iowa and finally Minnesota. “But it was very sporadic and I had a dry spell for 8 years,” she said, “until Liz (Michaelson) brought me into the fold.

“It’s funny that now I’m playing my mother’s part,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun. The play follows the movie pretty closely. In certain scenes, I find myself repeating Corie’s lines. After 30 years, the lines just come back. But that’s what happens when you’re in a show that runs for weeks. You get to the point where you’re talking to people, and you discover you’re saying lines from the play.”

With her perspective playing both parts, Muhrer interprets “Ethel” as being an older version of “Corie,” perhaps less conservative than the dignified Mildred Natwick in the film version.

“When you get to be my age, the roles become more fun,” Muhrer said. “They’re not as demanding. The support roles are pretty colorful. (The mother) is probably a little more demonstrative, maybe more like Corie at 50. That’s what it ended up being … They do say to men, ‘if you want to marry the daughter, look at the mom.’ The lines dictate that she is more careful but I thought, this is what Liz wanted me to bring out.”

Cameos

In an effort to bring more of the community to the theater, Michaelson asked the Rev. Rod Anderson of St. Andrew Lutheran Church and the Rev. Patrick Kennedy of Pax Christi Catholic Community to fill cameo roles as “The Lord & Taylor Delivery Man.” 

“There’s just one line,” Anderson said, describing his part. “I stumble up the stairs exhausted.” As a pastor, he’s accustomed to being up in front of congregations so he will take the part in stride. “I was invited along with Father Kennedy as an intentional desire to get more people involved in the community,” he said. Those attending the shows are being asked to bring donations to the PROP food shelves. “So in addition to looking at participation by local clergy, we’re supporting PROP at the same time.”

Sounds like a page from the idealistic and socially conscious ’60s. Can you dig it?

Tickets for “Barefoot in the Park,” may be purchased at the door or by calling 952-903-9464. The audience is encouraged to bring a non-perishable food or monetary donation for PROP.

Barefoot in the Park

By Neil Simon -- A light-hearted romp about newlyweds Corie and Paul Bratter who settle into a small fifth floor walkup apartment in New York. The action takes place over five days in which the couple’s relationship swings from love and passion, to anger and resentment and finally, back to love.

Performances

Where: Eden Prairie High School Auditorium

When: Feb. 16-17, 23-24 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 25 at 2 p.m.

Tickets: Adults $10; Seniors & students $8.

Tickets may be purchased at the door or by calling 952-903-9464. The audience is encouraged to bring a non-perishable food or monetary donation for PROP.

CAST

Corie, the Bride – Kjersten Johnson

Paul, the attorney husband – Jason Dugan

The Telephone Man – Joe Brisbois

Victor Velasco, the neighbor in the attic – Doug White

Ethel, the mother – Susan Muhrer

The Lord & Taylor Delivery Man – Cameos by Father Patrick Kennedy of Pax Christi on Feb. 16, 23 and 24; Pastor Rod Anderson of St. Andrew Lutheran Church on Feb. 17 and 25.