NEW YORK, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Prolific playwright Neil Simon returns to Broadway after a two-season absence with a revival of his first hit play, "Barefoot in the Park," which opened 1963.
Producers Robyn Goodman and Roy Gabay announced Monday that the revival will be directed by Scott Elliott, currently represented off-Broadway by the popular play "Aunt Dan and Lemon." They negotiated the rights to "Barefoot in the Park" from Paramount Pictures that bought them from Simon in 1965 for $150,000, then a huge amount for a young writer. After opening in 1963 the play ran 1,500 performances.
Altogether, Simon has written 34 plays, two of them produced off-Broadway including "Rose's Dilemma," which will close at the City Cent next Sunday after a brief run. Mary Tyler Moore dropped out of the title role just before the new play's premiere in December and was replaced by her understudy, Patricia Hodges. The play received mixed reviews.
Another Simon revival that may be in the works is "The Odd Couple," Simon's second Broadway play. Simon has said Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, the stars of "The Producers," are interest in appearing in the show if their schedules allow.
