
DATE: Thursday, February 27, 1997           TAG: 9702260155

SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN             PAGE: 10   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER

DATELINE: WAKEFIELD                         LENGTH:   55 lines

`BAREFOOT IN THE PARK' COMES TO WAKEFIELDTHE NEIL SIMON COMEDY STAYED ON BROADWAY MORE THAN THREE YEARS. LATER, IT WAS A SUCCESSFUL MOVIE.

One of the most successful comedies of the American stage, ``Barefoot In the Park,'' is a sellout dinner theater presentation Sunday at the Airfield Conference Center.

It is second only to ``The Odd Couple,'' on the Neil Simon laugh meter.

The original production stayed on Broadway more than three years. Later, it was a successful Robert Redford-Jane Fonda movie, and is now a favorite in amateur theater.

``Barefoot In the Park'' - Central Park, New York City, that is - tells of a pair of newlyweds setting up housekeeping in a rather rickety apartment.

Sounds simple enough, but with Simon, there must be complications.

They are provided by the bride's mother and an over-friendly oddball neighbor who lives in the attic above them.

The play's title refers to the scatterbrained bride who likes to walk shoeless through the February snow.

The bridegroom, on the other hand, is rather proper, providing the kind of battle of the wits in which Simon excels.

The Airfield presentation is a production of the Alpha-Omega Players, Repertory Theater of America, a 29-year-old touring company which has traveled more than 4 million miles across the United States and Canada, offering more than 13,000 comedies and dramas.

The four performers visiting Airfield are Courtney Flynn and Steve Young as the newlyweds, plus Jonathan Webb and Tara Moller.

Their credits are impressive. All are college graduates.

Flynn has performed in her native state, Pennsylvania, and has appeared in such films as ``Bob Roberts,'' ``Houseguest,'' and ``Roommates.``

Young, from Massachusetts, studied with the British-American Drama Academy in London. On stage, he has done quite a bit of Shakespeare. He is also a playwright and director.

Webb, who comes from Georgia, has studied with the American Theater of Actors in New York City and has performed in several stage productions.

Moller, a Nebraskan, was an intern in the casting office of the CBS soap opera, ``As the World Turns,'' and was a dresser for the off-Broadway production, ``Blue Skies Forever.'' She has many stage roles to her credit. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

ABOUT THE EVENT

WHAT: Alpha-Omega Players, Repertory Theater of America, presents

``Barefoot In the Park,'' by Neil Simon.

WHEN: Sunday. Dinner at 6 p.m., the play at 7:30.

WHERE: Airfield Conference Center, 15189 Airfield Road,

Wakefield.

COST: is $22 per person.

FOR INFORMATION or reservations: Call (757) 899-4901.