Lost in Yonkers
Encyclopedia
Lost in Yonkers is a 1991 Pulitzer Prize
-winning play by Neil Simon
. After eleven previews
, the Broadway
production, produced by Emanuel Azenberg and directed by Gene Saks
, opened on February 21, 1991 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre
, where it ran for 780 performances. The original cast included Irene Worth
as Grandma, Mercedes Ruehl
as Bella, Kevin Spacey
as Louie, Lauren Klein as Gert, Danny Gerard as Arty, Jamie Marsh
as Jay, and Mark Blum as Eddie.
tale that focuses on brothers Arty and Jay, left in the care of their Grandma Kurnitz and Aunt Bella in Yonkers, New York
. Their desperate father, Eddie, works as a traveling salesman to pay off debts incurred following the death of his wife. Grandma is a severe, frightfully intimidating immigrant who terrified her children as they were growing up, damaging each of them to varying degrees. Bella is a sweet but mentally slow and highly excitable woman who 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, tough-talking hoodlum who is on the run, while her sister Gert suffers from a breathing problem with cause is more psychological than physical. Missing much of the sentimentality of the plays comprising Simon's earlier Eugene trilogy
, Lost in Yonkers climaxes with a dramatic confrontation between embittered mother and lonely daughter that creates a permanent fissure in this highly dysfunctional family
.
. Worth and Ruehl reprised their stage roles, and Richard Dreyfuss
was cast as Louie. Bella's beau Johnny, an unseen character in the play, was portrayed by David Strathairn
.
Awards
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning play by Neil Simon
Neil Simon
Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that...
. After eleven previews
Preview (theatre)
Previews are a set of public performances of a theatrical presentation that precede its official opening. The purpose of previews is to allow the director and crew to identify problems and opportunities for improvement that weren't found during rehearsals and to make adjustments before critics are...
, the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production, produced by Emanuel Azenberg and directed by Gene Saks
Gene Saks
Gene Saks is an American stage and film director.-Life and career:Saks was born in New York City, the son of Beatrix and Morris J. Saks...
, opened on February 21, 1991 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre
Richard Rodgers Theatre
The Richard Rodgers Theatre, is a Broadway theater in New York City, built by Irwin Chanin in 1925. When it was first opened, it was called Chanin's 46th Street Theatre. Chanin almost immediately leased it to the Shuberts, who bought the building outright in 1931 and renamed it the 46th Street...
, where it ran for 780 performances. The original cast included Irene Worth
Irene Worth
Irene Worth, CBE was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the English and American theatre. -Early life:...
as Grandma, Mercedes Ruehl
Mercedes Ruehl
Mercedes J. Ruehl is an American theater, television and film actor.-Personal life:Ruehl was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, the daughter of Mercedes J., a school teacher, and Vincent Ruehl, an FBI agent. She was raised Catholic. Her father was of German and Irish descent and her...
as Bella, Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
as Louie, Lauren Klein as Gert, Danny Gerard as Arty, Jamie Marsh
Jamie Marsh
Jamie Marsh is an American theatre and film actor.Marsh was born in New York City. In 1981 while living in Stockholm, Sweden with his family, Jamie was cast in his first movie, Montenegro. After moving back to New York and graduating high school, Jamie studied at the H.B. Studios with Uta Hagen...
as Jay, and Mark Blum as Eddie.
Plot
Lost in Yonkers is a coming of ageComing of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
tale that focuses on brothers Arty and Jay, left in the care of their Grandma Kurnitz and Aunt Bella in Yonkers, New York
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
. Their desperate father, Eddie, works as a traveling salesman to pay off debts incurred following the death of his wife. Grandma is a severe, frightfully intimidating immigrant who terrified her children as they were growing up, damaging each of them to varying degrees. Bella is a sweet but mentally slow and highly excitable woman who 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, tough-talking hoodlum who is on the run, while her sister Gert suffers from a breathing problem with cause is more psychological than physical. Missing much of the sentimentality of the plays comprising Simon's earlier Eugene trilogy
Eugene Trilogy
The Eugene Trilogy refers to three plays written by Neil Simon: the first being Brighton Beach Memoirs, the second is Biloxi Blues, and the third being Broadway Bound...
, Lost in Yonkers climaxes with a dramatic confrontation between embittered mother and lonely daughter that creates a permanent fissure in this highly dysfunctional family
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
.
Film adaptation
Simon adapted his play for a 1993 feature film directed by Martha CoolidgeMartha Coolidge
Martha Coolidge is an American film director and former President of the Directors Guild of America. -Career:Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Ms. Coolidge first made her reputation by directing many award winning documentaries in New York before moving out to Hollywood in 1976. She spent several...
. Worth and Ruehl reprised their stage roles, and Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
was cast as Louie. Bella's beau Johnny, an unseen character in the play, was portrayed by David Strathairn
David Strathairn
David Russell Strathairn is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for portraying journalist Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck...
.
Awards and nominations
Awards
- 1991 Drama Desk Award for Best New Play
- 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
- 1991 Tony Award for Best Play
- 1991 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play (Mercedes RuehlMercedes RuehlMercedes J. Ruehl is an American theater, television and film actor.-Personal life:Ruehl was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, the daughter of Mercedes J., a school teacher, and Vincent Ruehl, an FBI agent. She was raised Catholic. Her father was of German and Irish descent and her...
) - 1991 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Play (Irene WorthIrene WorthIrene Worth, CBE was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the English and American theatre. -Early life:...
) - 1991 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Play (Kevin SpaceyKevin SpaceyKevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
)