As its search for a permanent home continues, Center Players of Freehold will proudly present Neil Simon’s classic comedy Barefoot in the Park as its first Signature Series production of the 2025-26 season. Directed by award-winning filmmaker and playwright Anthony Marinelli of Manalapan, the production will run from Oct. 3-12th at the Millstone Performing Arts Center in Millstone, NJ, marking the first time Center Players has performed in the venue.
The play centers around a newly married couple, Corie and Paul Bratter, who have just returned from their honeymoon at the Plaza Hotel in New York City to a run-down 5th floor walk-up. Corie, a free-spirited romantic, is determined to extend the honeymoon while Paul, a strait-laced pragmatist, is focused on his first case as a lawyer. The play explores how these two opposites meet in the middle and complement each other in this charming and hilarious comedy.
“Barefoot in the Park is an antidote to a world that has once again caught fire,” notes Director Marinelli. “Through Paul and Corie, audiences can connect once again to what it felt like to be in love for the first time, when there were nothing but possibilities, and the only problems that existed had to do with making your loved one happy. I think everyone will want to kick off their shoes after this.”
The cast features Olivia Arendt (Corie Bratter) Bradley Beach, NJ; Darren Carfano (Paul Bratter) Neptune, NJ; RoseMarie Franklin (Mrs. Banks), Ocean Grove, NJ; Thos Shipley (Victor Velasco) Roselle Park, NJ; Vinnie Mazella (Harry Pepper) Jackson NJ and Scott Stein (Delivery Man).
