Magazine Rack Entertainment Theater Corn Stock presents a Simon classic, 'Lost in Yonkers'
Corn Stock presents a Simon classic, 'Lost in Yonkers'
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- Published on Tuesday, 17 June 2014 12:05
- Written by Paul Gordon
When Corn Stock Theatre offered Amy Williams the chance to direct the Neil Simon classic “Lost In Yonkers,” she didn’t hesitate to accept.
“I love Neil Simon and his work and this is one of my favorites. So it wasn’t a hard decision to make,” said Williams. She didn’t submit to direct this season, but was asked when the show’s original director had to step down.
“It has been as fun to direct as it is to watch,” she said.
Audiences will get that chance starting Friday at 7:30 p.m. when “Lost In Yonkers” begins it’s nine-show run in the Corn Stock tent in Upper Bradley Park. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and can be purchased at the box office, online at www.cornstocktheatre.com or reserved by calling 676-2196.
“Lost In Yonkers” is considered by many to be the best play written by the prolific Simon. It won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for drama and the Tony Award for Best Play that same year.
The play takes place in 1942 and focuses largely on two teen-aged boys who go to live with their grandmother and aunt after their mother died and their father was forced to take a job that kept him on the road all the time.
Their new life in Yonkers brings a cast of characters as diverse as they can imagine. Grandmother is stern, Aunt Bella is mentally slow, their Uncle Louie is a smooth-talking mobster, and Aunt Gert has her own set of issues.
The boys want to return to their father and home in Brooklyn and they start scheming how to make it happen.
Comedy mixes with drama throughout the play, which is Corn Stock’s only non-musical of the 2014 season.
“We have a good cast for this show and I got lucky with a good turnout (at auditions). I think it was because people know Neil Simon, his writing and they know this piece of work,” Williams said.
The boys, Jay and Arty, are portrayed by Logan Henderson and Gardner Brown, respectively. It’s Henderson’s Corn Stock debut and only the second show for Brown, “but they handle these roles very well,” Williams said.
Grandma Kurnitz is portrayed by local theatre veteran Helen Englebrecht while Bella is played by Shannon Orrill, another veteran whom audiences loved in her portrayal as a crazed zombie in “Evil Dead The Musical” at Corn Stock’s Winter Playhouse last year. “They both are amazing actors,” Williams said.
Eddie, the boys’ father, is portrayed by Jeff Craig, Aunt Gert is played by Emily Toohill and Uncle Louie is portrayed by Paul Arbisi, who is on stage for the first time in more than 30 years, Williams said.
“This is a very strong piece with great characters. There isn’t a weak part in this play. For me it has been a joy to see the growth and the changes in the characters and getting to know the family so well. I think audiences will feel the same way,” she said.
She hopes audiences will take from the show that family is family, “that no matter how rotten some of them are we still love them because they are family and they do for each other.”
“Lost In Yonkers” is Williams’ directorial debut in the tent. Previously she directed “Piece of My Heart” at Corn Stock’s Winter Playhouse and “12 Angry Men” at Peoria Players.
“Lost In Yonkers” continues through Saturday, June 28.
