Wilson, Peet, Clayburgh, Roberts to Star in Barefoot in the Park

Patrick Wilson, Amanda Peet, Jill Clayburgh, and Tony Roberts will star in the upcoming Broadway revival of Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park, which is scheduled to begin performances in January 2006 at a yet-to-be named Broadway theater. Scott Elliott will direct the production; Roy Gabay and Robyn Goodman are the lead producers.

Wilson and Peet will play newlyweds Paul and Corie Bratter. Wilson received Tony Award nominations for his performances as Jerry in The Full Monty and Curly in the revival of Oklahoma! He played Joe Pitt in the HBO movie of Angels in America and Raoul in the film version of Phantom of the Opera. Peet most recently appeared at The Public Theater in Neil La Bute’s This Is How It Goes. Her film credits include The Whole Nine Yards, Something’s Gotta Give, and A Lot Like Love; she will be seen later this year in Syriana opposite Matt Damon and George Clooney.

Clayburgh will play Corie’s mother, Mrs. Banks. Her Broadway credits include The Rothschilds, Pippin, Jumpers, and Design for Living. She received Oscar nominations for the films An Unmarried Woman and Starting Over. Clayburgh is married to playwright David Rabe; their daughter Lily Rabe is currently starring in the Broadway revival of Steel Magnolias. Roberts, who will play Victor Velasco in Barefoot, succeeded Robert Redford as Paul in the original production of Barefoot in the Park. He is a two-time Tony Award nominee, for How Now Dow Jones and Play It Again, Sam; his more recent credits include The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife and the Sam Mendes revival of Cabaret

Elliott, the artistic director of the New Group, is currently represented by their production of Hurlyburly and is scheduled to direct the company’s production of Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party this fall. His Broadway credits include The Women and The Three Sisters.

Barefoot in the Park ran for more than 1,500 performances between October 1963 and June 1967. Robert Redford, Elizabeth Ashley, Mildred Natwick, and Kurt Kaznar were the original leads, and Mike Nichols won a Tony Award for his direction of the show. Penny Fuller, Joan Van Ark, Robert Reed, Eileen Heckart, Sylvia Sidney, Ilka Chase, and Judd Hirsch (as the Telephone Man) were among the actors who came in during the run.

Redford and Natwick re-created their roles in the 1967 film version, directed by Gene Saks; Jane Fonda played Corie and Charles Boyer played Victor. An African-American TV series based on the play was aired in 1970-71, starring Scoey Mitchell, Tracy Reed, and Nipsey Russell. A 1981 television film adaptation of the Simon play starred Richard Thomas, Bess Armstrong, Barbara Barrie, Hans Conried, and James Cromwell.