Barefoot In The Park

In 1969 I played the role of Paul in our high school production of ‘Barefoot in the Park’. This was one of Neil Simon’s most popular plays on Broadway with over 1000 performances in the 1960s. Mine was the role played by Robert Redford in New York and in the film. I didn’t look like Robert Redford, but never mind- no pressure. It is a very funny script and we had a lot of fun keeping them rolling in the aisles.

Playing opposite me in the role once played by Jane Fonda, was a lovely high school senior girl named Kevin Crooks. She was terrific. And the script called for us to kiss each other at several points in the play…on the lips. I was a high school sophomore. Tall for my age but in most ways not experienced at all. You get my drift? The only women I ever kissed were my mom and grandmothers, and that was not the kind of kissing the script called for. When it came time for our characters to kiss, Kevin was very patient. She tutored me to kiss like a real heterosexual. (I suppose it helped that her name was Kevin, I could just close my eyes and imagine kissing anyone I’d like; Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon-you get the idea.)

The play was set in New York City in the 60s so of course there were jokes in the script about gay people. I knew what gay people were, kind of. But they were mostly the butt of jokes even to Neil Simon.

The real balm that the play provided was the laughter. It was the first comedy in which I had acted. And I was surprised by how luxurious it felt to be the recipient of all that laughter. It billowed up from the audience and rolled over me. As long as they kept laughing I could do no wrong. You can be sure that Neil Simon is a genius when he puts words in the mouth of a high school sophomore and makes people laugh for hours.