Review: LOST IN YONKERS- a Magnificent Opening for the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre in Kansas City

It will make you laugh, make you want to cry, and make you want to see it again, Neil Simon's Lost In Yonkers opened Saturday September 20 at the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre in Kansas City. Karen Paisley directs the amazing production that marks the 10th season of the theatrical company and their 50th production. One member of the audience told me she had seen Lost in Yonkers in New York and preferred the Met production, with the smaller more intimate stage.

The play opened on Broadway in 1991 winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, four Tony Awards including Best Play and the Drama Desk Award for Best New Play. Taking place in 1942, it is the story of Arty and Jay two young brothers that are taken to their grandmothers to live after the death of their mother. Eddie their dad is in debt to a loan shark and must take a job, which requires extensive travel leaving him no option but to leave the boys with Grandma Kurnitz.

Real life brothers Zachary Hoar and Whittaker Hoar play Jay and Arty. Both give marvelous performances as the boys reluctant to stay with the grandmother they barely knew. Zachary makes his debut at the Met and has appeared at the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, the Lyric Opera, and the Unicorn Theatre. Whittaker returns to the Met having appeared previously in The Kentucky Cycle and a Script in Hand performance of Remember Mama. He has also appeared at the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival and The White Theatre.

Chris Gleeson gives a fine portrayal of Eddie, the father of the two boys. Eddie is a weak individual that has bitten off more than he can handle and turns to his mother to care for his sons. Though he regrets having to leave the boys with her, he feels trapped and sees no way out of his dilemma without taking the job involving travel.

Marilyn Lynch is splendid as Grandma Kurnitz, the bitter old woman charged with caring for the boys for 10 months. Her performance is realistic causing the audience to wince as she pounds her cane on the floor and screams at the boys for the least little infraction of her rules. She gives an emotional performance that tugs at the strings of the heart.

Scott Cox is powerful as Uncle Louie, the henchman for the mob that goes into hiding at the apartment of Grandma Kurnitz. At one moment he is the loving uncle with the .38 caliber pistol under his arm, and the next he is the dutiful son that sits immediately when told to do so by Grandma Kurnitz.

Brie Henderson is delightful as Gert, Eddie's sister who has a tendency to suck in air as she speaks, but as she says it only occurs when she visits her mother. Before the end of each line of dialogue, that Henderson speaks the audience erupts in laughter. The direction and execution of when to suck in the air was genius as it gave the audience much-needed comic relief during tense times of the second act.

Brilliant is the only way to describe the performance of Bonnie Griffin as Bella, Eddie's other sister. Griffin brings an enormous amount of energy to the stage and to her character, the sister that has learning disabilities and wants to live a normal life. She is particularly magnificent as she stands up to her mother and other characters of the play.

Lost in Yonkers continues at the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre through October 5 and is a fine example of the high quality productions that are available to Kansas City audiences. Purchase tickets at the box office 816-569-3226 or online at the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre website. Photo by Bob Paisley courtesy of the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre.

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