FUDGE Theatre Company Presents BAREFOOT IN THE PARK 1/28-2/5

Joe DeMita, Founder, President and Artistic Director of the Friends United Developing Genuine Entertainment or F.U.D.G.E. Theatre Company, has indeed found the most beautiful and absolutely funniest actors in Boston. And not a minute too soon. His no-holds-barred version of BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, Neil Simon's longest-running, award-winning Broadway smash hit about a marriage between a stunning, vibrant twenty-four year old New York woman with an unquenchable lust for life and a drop-dead handsome, Harvard-educated lawyer with a very sensible approach to everything on earth, opens at The Arsenal Center For the Arts (321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA.) on Friday, January 28 and continue to delight audiences through Saturday, February 5.

"BAREFOOT IN THE PARK" opened on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre on October 23rd, 1963 after which it ran 1,530 performances. Directed by Mike Nichols, the comedy starred Elizabeth Ashley and Robert Redford and featured Kurt Kasznar, Mildred Natwick, Herbert Edelman and Joseph Keating.

The film was released by Paramount Pictures on May, 25th, 1967. Directed by Gene Sacks, the cast was led by Jane Fonda and Robert Redford. Mildred Natwick and Herb Edelman repeated their roles.

Mr. DeMita's cast will star Alexandra Harrington (A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, THE TEMPEST) and Andrew Cromartie (THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM) and will feature Cliff Blake (SAME TIME NEXT YEAR, OF MICE AND MEN, WORKING, THE SHADOW BOX, THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG, A LESSON BEFORE DYING, THE FINAL SENTENCE) Sharon Kivnik (THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG, ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, NUTS, MY FAIR LADY, ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: THE MUSICALl) and Ethan Selby (WORKING)

Mr. Simon's Characters:

Corie Bratter. 24 years old. Breathtakingly beautiful. Historically unique. Disarmingly charming. Enthusiastic, impulsive, impetuous, spontaneous, provocative, irresistible. She is young and in love. She is also a force of nature.

Paul Bratter. 26 years old. Handsome. Very handsome. Serious. Very serious. Mature. Very mature. Responsible. Very responsible. Rational, competent, stable, reasonable, reliable, dependable. He is young and in love. Although he intellectually understands that he is married; he cannot escape the feeling that he has been kidnapped.

Ethel Banks. 48 years old. She is Corie's mother. She is still very beautiful. But she has lost her way as far as her somewhat dowdy wardrobe is concerned. Not her fault. She lives alone in West Orange, New Jersey. No husband. No pets. Obviously no Vogue Magazines. She has a sensitive stomach, a bad back and an early acceptance to the AARP. Her inner-rock-star is awakened by Corie's upstairs neighbor, Victor Velasco.

Victor Velasco. 58 years old. He is just as dashing in his 1940's informed pinstriped suit as he is in his Muromachi Age Kimono. His collection of French berets is unparalleled. He lives in the attic. He is vain. And he has the right to be. He's a head-turner. Women fall at his feet. Until they discover his problem with money. He has none. But Corie's mother has plenty. Her meltdown is worth the price of admission.

Harry Pepper. 41 years old. A telephone repairman. He is young at heart. But way too old to climb the five flights to the Bratters' new apartment. Six flights if you count the front stoop. Harry wants more than anything to help get the Bratters started on their path of marital bliss. His contribution is the installation of their first phone. It's just that after five flights and the stoop; he can't breath. He thinks he might be dying.

"BAREFOOT IN THE PARK" takes place in the top-floor apartment of a five-story walk-up on East Forty-Eighth Street just off Third Avenue in Manhattan. It is a cold February in 1963. The Bratters have just come from a love-drenched-nine-day Honeymoon breathlessly spent at the Plaza Hotel. Other monumental 1963 events include: The Profumo-Christine Keeler scandal rocks Britain, the assassination of President Kennedy rocks the world, the Independence of Kenya wakes up Africa, the March on Washington wakes up the National Media, the introduction of Valium calms down America, the invention of the Touch-Tone phone speeds up communication, the marketing of the first Instamatic cameras enrich Kodak, Frederico Fellini directs "8½", Steve McQueen stars in "The Great Escape", The Beatle's release ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand' in America, Jean Neditch founds Weight Watchers and Coca-Cola gives the world Tab.

The F.U.D.G.E. Theatre Company, Inc. provides quality and affordable theatre productions to the people in the greater Boston area, cultivating an appreciation for and understanding of the arts. A concept to which Founder and Artistic Director Joe DeMita is completely committed.

Tickets for the production are $20.00 and can be purchased by calling 781-956-1301 or visiting www.FudgeTheatre.com

The playing schedule:

Friday, January 28 @ 8:00 pm
Saturday, January 29 @ 8:00 pm
Sunday, January 30 @ 2:00 pm (matinee)
Thursday, February 3 @ 8:00 pm
Friday, February 4 @ 8:00 pm
Saturday, February 5 @ 8:00 pm

 

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