Barefoot in the park - Play by Evam

After seeing the movie, I had to see how Evam adapted it into a play. And to be frank, I didn't expect them to perform as well as they did. It is an excellent performance, and don't miss it.

The play is about Corrie and Paul Bratter, newly married and who have just moved into an apartment in NY. Apparently Corrie chose the apartment ("The first time I have done things all by myself"), which is in the fifth floor without elevators. And there is Mr. Victor Velasco living in the 6th floor, the attic, to reach which he has to climb through the window in Bratter's bedroom and walk along the ledge. Corrie has this brainwave of her prim and proper mother on a blind date with the exotic Mr. Velasco. Mr. Velasco promptly takes them to an Albanian Restaurant. Corrie enjoys the evening, but for Paul it is a disaster. After coming back home they get into an argument where Paul accuses Corrie of emotional immaturity, and she barks back at him saying that he is a stuffed shirt. One thing leads to another, and they decide to divorce each other. What happens from there is the climax.

Karthik, the founder of Evam played the role of Paul Bratter in an understated way. He came into his own in the shouting match with Corrie when she asks for divorce. Andrea played the role of Corrie to perfection. She had the high strung energetic look and was excellent in her scenes with Velasco. Neelakantan as Velasco was a perfect fit. His voice and dialogue delivery was good. But the star of the show was Karthik Srinivasan as Mrs. Banks, Corrie's mother. He was simply brilliant. He maintained the old woman's accent through out the play. Her (Mrs. Banks) resigned facial expressions when Mr. Velasco takes her out to the Albanian restaurant or when she finds that Mr. Velasco has removed her dress and given it to the cleaners when she was asleep were simply hilarious. You never felt that it was a guy playing the role.

All the actors had excellent dialogue delivery, and the sets where done well. The skyline of New York through the window was done cleverly. For the Albanian Restaurant scene they moved to the lawns of the auditorium. This was a clever idea, but I felt it broke the tempo of the play.

During the set arrangements they had a couple of dancers playing a routine and they played well. But the same cannot be said about the dancers during the marriage scene.

It is a wonderful experience, don't miss it. The show is on 12th and 13th at the Sivagami Pethachi auditorium in MCtM school next to Life Style in Alwarpet. On 17th and 18th they are playing at the Savera Hotel. Book tickets through 98842 77338