"Lost in Yonkers" Review

Review of ATC’s Production of Lost in Yonkers

by Marc Hansen

ATC’s marvelous production of the classic play Lost in Yonkers is possibly the best play they’ve produced in the last two years. Written by playwright genius Neil Simon (The Odd Couple), for which he won the Pulitzer Prize, Lost in Yonkers is Simon’s magnum opus, containing his wittiest, most hysterical dialogue combined with the surprising emotional impact the play unleashes on you. It may be the least flashy ATC play this year in terms of lighting or set design, but it excels in theatre’s two most important aspects: acting and writing.

Lost in Yonkers starts out in Grandma Kurnitz’s living room, where two young brothers, Arty (Maxx Carlisle-King) and Jay (Ryan DeLuca), recount horror stories they’ve heard about their strict, paternal grandmother (Judy Kaye) that they hardly know. This is the living room that the rest of the play will be set in and that we’ll come to know so well. And though the play begins with an almost sitcom-y premise where the two mischevious youngsters are forced to live with their overbearing grandma for nearly a year, while their father (Spencer Rowe) travels around the country, the play takes a rather unexpected turn. Being a comedy, and a Neil Simon comedy, I naturally expected the children to eventually come to terms with their demanding immigrant grandmother and realize how much they love and appreciate her in the end, in a very predictable fashion. And though this ultimately does happen in a way (albeit much slower and more realistic than typical ‘90s comedies), the play slowly becomes more about the dysfunctional relationships Grandma’s Kurnitz and her own children have. As the mentally challenged aunt (Kate Goehring) and smooth criminal uncle (Preston Maybank) of the boys start to play a larger role, we realize that Lost in Yonkers isn’t about the boys. The boys, in fact, represent the audience, watching all the drama unfold upon them.

Obviously, the biggest reason Lost in Yonkers is so successful is because of Neil Simon’s book. It’s not only full of his very clever, very funny writing, that I was well aware of after reading The Odd Couple, but includes a really profound, emotional center at the heart of the story that wasn’t as present in the cheeky Odd Couple. Yonkers is really phenomenal writing on all fronts, with extremely deep, well rounded characters pushing the engaging story forward. At first, I thought Grandma Kurnitz was just your typical stereotypical strict authority figure, but as the play went on, I realized what an incredibly complex character she was and Bella, the retarded aunt, is the best written handicapped character I’ve ever seen. She may have disabilities, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have intense, conflicting feelings and desires that emerge pass the surface of her illness.

The characters obviously wouldn’t work without the proper cast though, which is why it’s so amazing that Lost in Yonkers literally perfectly casted every character. Goehring as Bella is obviously the stand out, in the best portrayal of a mentally handicapped character I’ve ever seen. But to say that Bella is just a ‘mentally handicapped’ character isn’t doing the character justice, as she is so much more than that, which is what I love about the performance. Goehring lets that come through very naturally, but she plays Bella as a deeply confused, hurt, and sheltered little child in a grown woman’s body, with a grown woman’s desires, yet the naivety to think that that life is possible for her. It’s very hard to pick a favorite among such a great cast though. Maybank as Louie is so cool and suave and badass that you completely see why the young boys would admire and look up to him, yet he’s also intimidating and scary enough that you’re simultaneously scared of his next move or the trouble he might bring. In his small role as the father, Rowe completely convinces you in the play’s first pitch, understanding how conflicted this caring father is about leaving his children behind, that the set up doesn’t seem at all like a gimmick. Kerry McCue, in another small role as Aunt Gert, is incredibly funny with her vocal timing and even DeLuca and Carlisle-King as the boys had great comedic chops. But I can’t forget Kaye as Grandma Kurnitz who feels like your lovable, grouchy, old grandma and propels her into more than just than an one-note character. Such great acting and execution can only happen at the tips of great direction though, which is why the stupendous work of ATC’s very own Samantha Wyer can’t be forgotten.

Yes, perhaps the production isn’t perfect. Some extensive dialogue scenes start to feel a little long and maybe a score would’ve helped, but I prefer not to nitpick when everything else is so wonderful. Lost in Yonkers isn’t a theatre, or art, experience that you get to experience often, so why not appreciate it while you can?

Grade: A