This spring Arizona Theatre Company journeys to the New York boroughs and into Neil Simon's masterwork, Lost in Yonkers. Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best Play, this uproarious and affecting look at family, duty and love is just as funny as it is poignant.
Lost in Yonkers tells the story of a family coping with the challenges of keeping together during World War II and the struggles to balance love with tough times. Grandma Kurnitz is the matriarch with a will of iron and a hardwood cane who spared no rod in raising her four children. When her two teenage grandsons are forced by circumstances to live with her for a year, the clash of generations and battle of wills leads the whole family to learn important lessons about love, duty, devotion, and trust.
"Neil Simon is at his best in Lost in Yonkers,” said Director Samantha K. Wyer. "Simon draws the audience into the world of the play effortlessly, and soon the family's dreams for the future become our own as we cheer for them to triumph."
Starring as Grandma Kurnitz is Judy Kaye, who returns to ATC where she last appeared in Souvenir, reprising her Tony-nominated performance as Florence Foster Jenkins. She received the Tony Award in 1988 for the role of Carlotta in the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera, and recently starred as Mrs. Lovett on Broadway and in the National Tour of Sweeney Todd.
“It’s a perfect play,” said Kaye. “It has all the elements of a wonderful drama and wonderful comedy. We have a happy ending, but along the way there’s a lot of struggle. There’s more laughter than tears, but there are tears.”
Lost in Yonkers is the fourth installment of Arizona Theatre Company’s AMERICA PLAYS! Celebrating Great American Stories initiative and they’re celebrating with a free 1940s Family Fun Fair. This free community event, "Red, White and Yonkers," will take place Sunday, April 3 from 12 PM to 4 PM in downtown Phoenix, on the piazza at the Herberger Theater Center.
Lost in Yonkers runs March 24 – April 10, 2011. Tickets start at $30 and are available at (602) 256-6995 or arizonatheatre.org. |
