Two River Theater Company Presents BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, Opens 2/9

Two River Theater Co. will present Neil Simon's Tony nominated romantic comedy: BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, directed by Two River Founder and Executive Producer, Robert M. Rechnitz. Barefoot in the Park begins previews on Tuesday, February 9, opens Saturday, February 13, and runs through Sunday, February 28.

Says director Rechnitz: "When I founded the theater sixteen years ago, it was with the intent to produce ‘serious' theater-that is, plays of significance and import-be they the great tragedies, dramas, and comedies. Barefoot in the Park is just one of those plays. In its structure and form, it is incredibly ‘serious'. Henry Irving said on his deathbed that "comedy is hard". Well, Neil Simon knows comedy, and in this play, he makes it look seriously easy. It will be a delight to share his mastery of the comic form with our audiences."

Two River audiences will remember cast members Meg Chambers Steedle (Frog and Toad), and Christopher Coucill (Curse of the Starving Class: the first production directed by Robert M. Rechnitz at Two River Theater Co.). The cast also includes Dori Legg, John Wernke, Paul Nixon, Gary Powell, and Demetrios Bonaros.

Robert M. Rechnitz (Director) (PhD, University of Colorado) was Professor of American Literature at Monmouth University for over thirty years. He published scholarly articles and short stories in various academic journals. In 1994, he founded and is now the Executive Producer of Two River Theater Company. For Two River Theater Company he has directed Curse of the Starving Class (for which he received Newark's Star-Ledger's nomination for Best Director of a Comedy), True West, A View from the Bridge, The Glass Menagerie, Thieves' Carnival, Uncle Vanya, and American Buffalo. For the opening production in the new theater, he directed the classic American comedy, You Can't Take It with You. In 1996, Newark's Star-Ledger named him one of "20 New Jerseyans to Watch" in the new century. In 2001, Monmouth University awarded Dr. Rechnitz the Maurice Pollak Award for Distinguished Community Service. Dr. Rechnitz was honored in 2007 by the Monmouth County Arts Council with the Celebration of Excellence Award.

Demetrios Bonaros (Telephone Man) is a NY-based actor, singer and composer. Various credits: Measure for Measure, The Winter's Tale, The Taming of the Shrew and The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Hipgnosis Theatre Co; A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hudson Warehouse); Opa!, Queens Theatre in the Park; Dinner and Delusion, Center for Contemporary Opera; The Island, Pig Iron Theatre Co. and Sogno di una Notte di Mezza Estate, International Opera Theatre, Orvieto, Italy. Studies: mathematics, theatre (Swarthmore College, Villanova University); piano/music theory/harmony (Conservatory of Athens); Commedia dell'Arte with Antonio Fava; neutral mask/clown/bouffon with Sarah Sanford and Giovanni Fusetti; and voice with Julian Rodescu.

Christopher Coucill (Victor Velasco) appeared in Robert Rechnitz's acclaimed production of The Curse of the Starving Class at TRTC. Broadway: Buffalo Bill in Annie Get Your Gun with Bernadette Peters; Gen. Harrison Howell in Kiss Me Kate with Brian Stokes Mitchell; and The Graduate with Lorraine Bracco. Tours: Lank Hawkins in the First National Company of Crazy for You. Regional favorites: Lear in King Lear, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival; Hamlet in Hamlet, Shakespeare & Company; Caesar in Caesar and Cleopatra, Playmakers Repertory; and solo performances of Underneath the Lintel, Delaware Theatre Company. Television: "Margaret Mead: An Observer Observed", "Law & Order", "American Playhouse", "Deadline", and "One Life to Live".

Dori Legg* (Ethel) Off-Broadway : Shaving The Pickle, Origin Theatre 1st Irish Festival. Regionally: The Women, Arena Stage; This Beautiful City, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Humana Festival; Twelfth Night, Melissa Arctic (both directed by Aaron Posner), Macbeth, Great Expectations, Folger Shakespeare Theatre; Recent Tragic Events (Helen Hayes nomination), Woolly Mammoth Theatre; The Diary of Anne Frank, Delaware Theatre Co; Escape From Happiness, Season's Greetings, Round House Theatre; Durang, Durang, The Women, Studio Theatre; A Christmas Carol, Ford's Theatre; Prides Crossing, Enchanted April, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Glorious, Fulton Opera House. Films: El Camino, Double Negative, Guilty As Charged. TV: Law and Order: CI, Homicide, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, As The World Turns.

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