Lost in Yonkers
by Neil Simon
Sept. 19-22, 1996
Directed by B. Michael Quale
Supported in part by a grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts
One of Neil Simon's most impressive and funniest plays. This is a memory play set in 1942. Laughter and tears have come together in a new and emotional truth.
Lost In Yonkers is a coming of age tale of brothers Arty and Jay. Their father, Eddie, travels as a salesman to pay off debts incurred following the death of his wife while the boys are left in the care of their grandmother and aunt Bella in Yonkers. Grandma is an intimidating immigrant who terrified her children as they were growing up, damaging each of them to varying degrees. Bella longs to marry an usher at the local movie house so she can escape the oppressive household and create a life and family of her own. Her brother Louie is a small-time hoodlum who is on the run, while her sister Gert suffers from a breathing problem with causes more psychological than physical problems. Lost in Yonkers climaxes with a dramatic confrontation between embittered mother and lonely daughter that creates a permanent fissure in this highly dysfunctional family.
The Cast
Jay………………Thomas Golden
Arty………………Ty Stewart
Bella………………Susan Snyder
Eddie………………Gary Mizeur
Grandma Kurnitz………………Jennifer Innis
Louie………………Jim Ryen
Gert………………Tricia Schwartz
Production Staff
Director………………B. Michael Quale
Assistant Director………………Sara Braun
Technical Design………………B. Michael Quale
Scenic Construction………………Larry Sneider
Light Technician………………Doug Hoffman
Sound Technician………………Lary Sneider
Scenic Construction:
Sara Braun, Vicke Finders, Kandee Frericksen, Michelle Fuchs, Doug Hoffman, Gary Mizeur, Tim Nehring, Mike Quale, Him Ryen, Larry Sneider, Susan Snyder
Properties:
Sara Braun, Jennifer Innis, Mike Quale, Jim Ryen, Susan Snyder
Acknowledgements
Sheldon Anderson, Marilyn Akerson, Jack Dyville, First Baptist Church, First Lutheran Church, Bobbie Gludt, KEYZ/Oldies 96, KUMV-TV, Scott Mendro, The Shopper, Earl Westereng, The Williston Herald
