Lost in Yonkers
Lost in Yonkers
The Epoch Times
Diana Barth
April 9 2012
Neil Simon has sometimes been criticized because his plays, though undeniably funny, are often thought to lack heart. No such accusation can be leveled at his "Lost in Yonkers," now playing in a nigh-perfect revival at the Beckett Theatre. With this play, many felt Simon entered the ranks of serious dramatists.
Originally presented on Broadway for close to a two-year run (February 1991 to January 1993), "Lost in Yonkers" ran for a spectacular 780 performances. Simon won both a Pulitzer Prize and Tony for Best Play, as well as three of the actors winning Tony Awards.
Here director Jenn Thompson, co-artistic director of TACT (The Actors Company Theatre), and her company of fine actors strike just the right balance between outlandishness and tenderness.
Set in Grandma Kurnitz's (Cynthia Harris) Yonkers living room at the height of World War II, her anxious son Eddie (Dominic Comperatore) is present with his two teenage sons, Jay (Matthew Gumley) and younger brother Arty (Russell Posner). Eddie, mostly offstage, pleads that Grandma let the boys live with her while he is down South working to pay off a debt for medical expenses resulting from his deceased wife's cancer treatment.
Grandma Kurnitz is a tough nut to crack. She has enveloped herself in an icy shell due to dreadfully painful experiences during her younger days in Germany. She coldly sets the ground rules for her two grandchildren, and it is the show's major delight to see how these young characters (in the hands of clever performers Gumley and Posner) sidestep just about every hurdle that Grandma sets for them.
Later on we meet Grandma's son Uncle Louie (Alec Beard), apparently a member of the criminal class. He is a true "tough guy," and sports a handgun in a holster at his side. It comes out that the "dance will be over" for him on Friday, and he must seek new digs. The visiting Aunt Gert (Stephanie Cozart) can barely utter a sentence without going into a severe wheeze. These two are apparently the legacy of Grandma's severe childcare system.
An important member of this dysfunctional household is warm-hearted Aunt Bella, Grandma's slightly simple-minded daughter (Finnerty Steeves), who, though often put down by her mother, later manages, with a good deal of newfound emotional strength, to persevere. In fact, the climactic scene between Bella and Grandma, brilliantly enacted, brought tears to many viewers' eyes.
John McDermott has designed a wonderfully conservative living room of the 1940s, complemented by David Toser’s costumes.
"Lost in Yonkers" is a show to be seen and savored.