Theater D, an offshoot of Deerfield Family Theater, tries to create a different experience with smaller and more intimate productions.
With the parent presenting lavish musical numbers, Theater D offers non-musical performances in which the audience is closer to the stage at Deerfield’s Patty Turner Center. Topping the bill this year is Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park,” debuting at 8 p.m. March 13.
A legend of both Broadway and Hollywood, Simon’s comedic riff on marital woes and relationships was a natural for Theater D.
“We wanted to do a tried-and-true comedy, and there’s no comedic writer more tried-and-true than Neil Simon,” said director Ken Preuss. “The goal was to find a show that had really good comedic quality and a rich storyboard. Neil Simon approaches comedy like a craft, creating pauses like beats in a song. We knew this was something audiences would really enjoy.”
The themes explored in “Barefoot in the Park” and Simon’s gift for creating relatable characters and settings fit perfectly with Theater D’s aim to connect with audiences.
“There are so many archetypal scenarios – a newlywed couple, a mother/daughter relationship, a matchmaking situation – but presented in a way that’s so hilariously funny.” Preuss said. “We laugh because it’s real.”
Newlyweds Corie and Paul serve are the main protagonists, living in New York in the 1960s. Their clashing approaches toward life create familiar quarrels, and as they navigate their way through the trials and tribulations of young love, Preuss sees many similarities to today’s generation.
“These are seemingly two people who are very, very different, with Corie being a completely free spirit and Paul an uptight guy with everything together,” Preuss said. “As newlyweds, Paul is trying to advance his career as a young attorney, while Corie gets wrapped up in the era’s bohemian lifestyle. And with this couple, like millennials today, it seems like there’s this jump-in attitude. But reality hits. And that’s what happens in the show — reality hits, and they’re not sure it’s actually going to work.”
As director, Preuss hopes to not only convey Simon’s comedic gift, but to remind the audience that sometimes the greatest relationships come from accepting imperfections.
“What I really want audiences to take away is that even though they’re watching a comedy, they’re watching real people and not caricatures,” Preuss said. “I think the real essence of Neil Simon’s comedy is believing the characters’ circumstances and points of view. I hope that people walk away honoring whatever relationships they have and celebrating the diversity of those relationships. Opposites do work, maybe we have to make them work, but they ultimately work. That’s what creates the richness of life.”
“Barefoot in the Park” runs March 13-14 at 8 p.m., March 15 at 3 p.m., March 20-21 at 8 p.m. and March 22 at 3 p.m. at the Patty Turner Center
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For tickets, visit theaterd.com.