The La Grange Area Teen Theatre spring play will be “Lost in Yonkers,” the Pulitzer Prize winning stage play by Neil Simon.
The coming of age story of two young Bronx brothers being sent to live with their stern, formidable grandmother and their eccentric aunts in Yonkers first premiered on New Year’s Eve 1990.
The production from the teen theater group, aka LATTE, will be the weekend of May 2-4 at the Plymouth Place Auditorium, 315 N. La Grange Road.
“I think people are going to be surprised by how much life is written into every scene,” said Jodie Velez, who plays the oldest son Jay. “Neil Simon is famous for jokes hidden in heavy scenes, but he has also written very complex and real characters. Each character has their own story and while some are more focused on than others, they each have their own character arc.”
Set in New York in 1942 amid the pressures of World War II, Eddie Kurnitz loses his wife Evelyn after a lengthy battle with cancer. To cover his wife’s medical expenses, Eddie borrows from loan sharks and takes a job as a traveling salesman to pay off his debt.
This means sending his sons Jay and Arty to live with his mother, who was reluctant to agree, but finally took them in.
The two sons aren’t happy about living in their grandmother’s apartment above her candy store and, like everyone else in town, are a little afraid of her. They also have trouble relating to their aunts Bella and Gert.
Further complicating matters is the arrival of Eddie’s brother Louie, himself on the run from gangsters, just trying to survive. Jay and Arty’s mission becomes how to raise money so they can again live with their father, and this may involve absconding with some of their grandmother’s hidden cash.
At the same time, their Aunt Bella struggles to tell the family she wants to marry her movie usher boyfriend and gain independence from her stern mother.
Jodie Velez plays the part of the oldest son, Jay, a male character.
“It’s definitely a challenge,” she said. “Playing a young male character as a young woman comes with its fair share of difficulties. Jay is also a character that has pretty deep feelings, which can make for a lot of emotional or humorous moments.”
Velez said “Lost in Yonkers” was a story that could appeal to a wide variety of age groups.
“A lot of demographics can find something impactful about this show,” she said. “Teenagers and young adults may find it entertaining and relatable, while older adults may view it as a healing experience. As intergenerational trauma reactions are a large facet of the play, the characters can easily be related to.”
Isla Baker, of Downers Grove, plays Grandma Kurnitz, and she strives to portray the family matriarch as the immigrant with the tough childhood that she was.
“She is traditional and tries to hide any emotion besides anger,” Baker said. “Independence and strength are highly valued in her home. She’s a fun character to play because everyone is a little bit scared of her, which gives me power in most of my scenes over the other characters.”
Tomas Kowalchuk, of Willowbrook, a music student at the College of DuPage, plays the father, Eddie.
“I think family is a timeless issue,” he said. “Familial bonds, and the lack thereof, is a tale as old as time, and people ultimately want to be close to a family — even if it’s bad.”
Kowalchuk admitted that some of the dialogue was challenging.
“Absolutely, the first dialogue where Eddie talks about his wife dying of cancer to his boys,” he said. “I needed it to be painful, to be raw.”
LATTE was formed in 2009 by Felicia Pfluger, the ensemble’s artistic director, producer, and the person who adapts plays for the teen theater. She spoke about deciding on “Lost In Yonkers” for the spring play.
“The Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play is heralded as Neil Simon’s best work and has long been on my directing “bucket list,” she said. “Our LATTE cast fell in love with the emotional rawness and vulnerability … and the realness of family that we can all relate to.”
“Lost In Yonkers,” a stage play in three acts, will run May 2-4 at the Plymouth Place Auditorium, 315 N. La Grange Road. Information is at lattetheater.com.
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
