(MILLSTONE, NJ) -- As its search for a permanent home continues, Center Players of Freehold will proudly present Neil Simon's classic comedy Barefoot in the Park as its first Signature Series production of the 2025-26 season. Directed by award-winning filmmaker and playwright Anthony Marinelli of Manalapan, the production runs from October 3-12, 2025 at the Millstone Performing Arts Center. This marks the first time Center Players has performed in the venue.
The play centers around a newly married couple, Corie and Paul Bratter, who have just returned from their honeymoon at the Plaza Hotel in New York City to a run-down 5th floor walk-up. Corie, a free-spirited romantic, is determined to extend the honeymoon while Paul, a strait-laced pragmatist, is focused on his first case as a lawyer. The play explores how these two opposites meet in the middle and complement each other in this charming and hilarious comedy.
“Barefoot in the Park is an antidote to a world that has once again caught fire,” notes Director Marinelli. “Through Paul and Corie, audiences can connect once again to what it felt like to be in love for the first time, when there were nothing but possibilities, and the only problems that existed had to do with making your loved one happy. I think everyone will want to kick off their shoes after this.”
The cast features Olivia Arendt (Corie Bratter) Bradley Beach, NJ; Darren Carfano (Paul Bratter) Neptune, NJ; RoseMarie Franklin (Mrs. Banks), Ocean Grove, NJ; Thos Shipley (Victor Velasco) Roselle Park, NJ; Vinnie Mazella (Harry Pepper) Jackson NJ and Scott Stein (Delivery Man).
Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm. Tickets are priced from $30-32 and are available online at www.centerplayers.org or by calling 732-462-9093. Specially priced $25 tickets are available for groups of 10 or more. The Millstone Performing Arts Center is located at 5 Dawson Ct. in Millstone, New Jersey.
To help fund the production which will require a larger budget due to the size and scope of the venue, Center Players, a 501©3 company, has established a tax-deductible GoFundMe campaign which can be accessed here.
Over the past 17 years, Anthony Marinelli has written and directed for both stage and screen including his recent film, Why I Had To Kill You While You Slept. On the NYC stage, he produced and directed Fool for Love and Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. His original one-act plays include Acoustic Space (Winner Best Play, 2014 Strawberry One-Act Festival), Another Famous Dead Artist, Max & Domino, and Visitors. His film adaptation of Acoustic Space won Best Short in the 2018 Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival and Best Original Screenplay in the 2016 Richmond International Film Festival. Another short, Walt Whitman Never Paid For It, by Angelo Berkowitz, won the Audience Choice Award at the Richmond International Film Festival.
At Center Players, Marinelli has directed staged readings of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Speed-the-Plow as well as Signature Series Presentations Prisoner of Second Avenue, Dancing Mad, Play It Again Sam, Chapter Two, Butterflies Are Free, Same Time Next Year, Prelude to a Kiss and Crimes of the Heart.
Following Barefoot in the Park, Center Players’ next production will be It’s A Wonderful Life Radio Play by Joe Landry on Sunday, November 23rd at 1:00pm & 4:00pm at the American Hotel in Freehold.
Center Players, currently celebrating its 28th season, is a respected, award-winning community organization. Located for 23 years at 35 South Street in downtown Freehold, the company recently lost its lease and is currently seeking a permanent home. The group presents high quality, engaging productions featuring local talent in various venues near its former home, including the American Hotel and the Court Street School. In addition to their signature plays, the theater also sponsors free play readings and other special events.
