''Lost in Yonkers'' is a play by
Neil Simon
Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...
. The play won the 1991
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
for Drama.
Production
The play premiered at The Center for the Performing Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on December 31, 1990, then moved to
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
at the
Richard Rodgers Theatre
The Richard Rodgers Theatre (formerly Chanin's 46th Street Theatre and the 46th Street Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 226 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Her ...
on February 21, 1991, where it ran for 780 performances and 11 previews. Produced by
Emanuel Azenberg Emanuel "Manny" Azenberg (born January 22, 1934) is an American theatre producer and general manager whose professional relationship with playwright Neil Simon spans thirty-three years.
Life and career
Azenberg was born in The Bronx, the son of Ha ...
and directed by
Gene Saks
Gene Saks (born Jean Michael Saks; November 8, 1921 – March 28, 2015) was an American director and actor. An inductee of the American Theater Hall of Fame, his acting career began with a Broadway debut in 1949. As a director, he was nominated ...
, the cast included
Jamie Marsh
Jamie Marsh is an American theatre, television and film actor.
Jamie was born in New York City. In 1981 while living in Stockholm, Sweden Jamie was cast in his first movie, ''Montenegro''. From 1987–1991 Jamie studied with Uta Hagen and Herb ...
as Jay,
Irene Worth
Irene Worth, CBE (June 23, 1916March 10, 2002) was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the British and American theatre. She pronounced her given name with three syllables: "I-REE-nee".
Worth made her Br ...
as Grandma,
Mercedes Ruehl as Bella,
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolades ...
as Louie, Lauren Klein as Gert,
Danny Gerard
Danny Gerard (born Daniel Gerard Lanzetta; May 29, 1977) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his role as Alan Silver in the CBS television series ''Brooklyn Bridge''. He also starred in the short lived CBS series '' Blue Skie ...
as Arty, and
Mark Blum
Mark Blum (May 14, 1950 – March 25, 2020) was an American actor who worked in theater, film, and television. He found success with a lead role in the 1985 film ''Desperately Seeking Susan,'' which he followed up the next year with a supporting r ...
as Eddie.
Plot
In Brooklyn 1942, Evelyn Kurnitz has just died following a lengthy illness. Her husband, Eddie Kurnitz, needs to take a job as a traveling salesman to pay off the medical bills incurred, and decides to ask his stern and straight talking mother, from whom he is slightly estranged, if his two early-teen sons, Jay and Arty (who their Grandma insists on calling by their full given names, Jacob and Arthur, which she pronounces "Yakob" and "Artur"), can live with her and their Aunt Bella Kurnitz in Yonkers. She refuses. After a threat by Bella, she lets them stay without ever saying they could stay. Despite their Grandma owning and operating a candy store, Jay and Arty don't like their new living situation as they're afraid of their Grandma, and find it difficult to relate to their crazy Aunt Bella, whose slow mental state is manifested by perpetual excitability and a short attention span, which outwardly comes across as a childlike demeanor. Into their collective lives returns one of Eddie and Bella's other siblings, Louie Kurnitz, a henchman for some gangsters. He is hiding out from Hollywood Harry, who wants what Louie stole and is hiding in his small black bag. Jay and Arty's mission becomes how to make money fast so that they can help their father and move back in together, which may entail stealing the $15,000 their Grandma has hidden somewhere. Bella's mission is to find a way to tell the family that she wants to marry Johnny, her equally slow movie theater usher boyfriend; the two could also use $5,000 of Grandma's hidden money to open their dream restaurant. And Louie's mission is to survive the next couple of days.
Characters
Jay: He is fifteen "and a half" years old. He insists on the "and a half". The death of his mother forces him to be more mature than he is ready to be when his father leaves him and his younger brother with his family so he can sell scrap iron during World War Two. The play tells his coming-of-age story.
Arty: Jay's younger brother, he is 13 "and a half" years old. More of an observer than the rest of his family, he often goes with the flow of things, but also can be a little childish.
Bella: Jay's thirty-five-year-old aunt. She is sometimes a bit off-center and is mentally challenged, but despite this she is also loving and protective of her nephews. Much of the second half of the play focuses on her attempts at independence from her stern mother.
Louie: Jay's flamboyant, jovial uncle, in his late 30s, who comes to live with the family when he is hiding from the local mob. He is considered by Grandma Kurnitz to be the "survivor" of the family. He has a strong, mercurial nature, and a certain underlying dark side, which the kids uncover in the second act of the play. He works as a "
bag-man" for the mob.
Grandma Kurnitz: Jay's grandmother. A very old and stern woman, an immigrant from Germany. Owing to her harsh childhood, she has always been very intolerant of what in others she calls "weaknesses". She is blunt, sometimes even in a funny way, and always knows what is going on with the people around her.
Eddie: Jay's middle-aged father. After the death of his wife, he is forced to send his two sons to live with their grandmother, while he repays his large financial debts. He is shown to be, much like his sisters, a nervous wreck around Grandma.
Gert: Jay's aunt, and Grandma's daughter. She is a very interesting addition to the family. Her most noticeable issue is that when she breathes she has a tendency to suck in while still speaking, as a result of trauma instilled in her by Mother, from a young age.
Film adaptation
Simon adapted his play for a 1993 feature film directed by
Martha Coolidge
Martha Coolidge (born August 17, 1946) is an American film director and former President of the Directors Guild of America. She has directed such films as ''Valley Girl'', ''Real Genius'' and '' Rambling Rose''.
Early life
Coolidge was born in N ...
, and starring Brad Stoll as Jay. Worth and Ruehl reprised their stage roles, and
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (; born Dreyfus; October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for starring in popular films during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including ''American Graffiti'' (1973), ''Jaws'' (1975), ''Close Encounters of the T ...
was cast as Louie. Bella's beau Johnny, an unseen character in the play, was portrayed by
David Strathairn
David Russell Strathairn (; born January 26, 1949) is an American actor. Known for his leading roles on stage and screen, he has often portrayed historical figures such as Edward R. Murrow, J. Robert Oppenheimer, William H. Seward, and John Do ...
.
Awards and nominations
Source: Playbill Vault
;Awards
* Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play (
Mercedes Ruehl)
* Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolades ...
)
* Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (
Irene Worth
Irene Worth, CBE (June 23, 1916March 10, 2002) was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the British and American theatre. She pronounced her given name with three syllables: "I-REE-nee".
Worth made her Br ...
)
* Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play
* Pulitzer Prize for Drama
"Drama Winners and Finalists"
pulitzer.org, accessed April 12, 2012
* Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Mercedes Ruehl)
* Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play (Kevin Spacey)
* Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (Irene Worth)
* Tony Award for Best Play
;Nominations
* Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play (Gene Saks
Gene Saks (born Jean Michael Saks; November 8, 1921 – March 28, 2015) was an American director and actor. An inductee of the American Theater Hall of Fame, his acting career began with a Broadway debut in 1949. As a director, he was nominated ...
)
* Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design (Santo Loquasto)
References
External links
*
*
{{Navboxes
, title = Awards for ''Lost in Yonkers''
, list =
{{DramaDesk Play 1975–2000
{{Pulitzer Prize for Drama 1976-2000
{{TonyAwardBestPlay 1976-2000
1991 plays
Jews and Judaism in Westchester County, New York
Plays by Neil Simon
Broadway plays
Drama Desk Award-winning plays
Pulitzer Prize for Drama-winning works
Tony Award-winning plays
American plays adapted into films
Plays set in New York (state)
Plays set in the 1940s
Yonkers, New York