Neil Simon's Pulitzer Prize-Winning LOST IN YONKERS Opens Palm Beach Dramaworks'  

Palm Beach Dramaworks ushers in its 25th Anniversary Season on November 1 (7:30pm) with Neil Simon's most celebrated play, Lost in Yonkers.

Winner of both the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1991 Tony Award for Best Play, Lost in Yonkers runs through November 17, with specially priced previews on October 30 and 31 (7:30pm).

Julianne Boyd, founding artistic director of the acclaimed Barrington Stage Company, makes her PBD directorial debut.

Set in 1942, this funny and touching coming-of-age story is both an exploration of the wounds inflicted by family, and a testament to the power of familial love, resiliency, and survival. Two teenage boys, Jay and Arty, are left in the care of their Grandma Kurnitz when their widowed father, Eddie, in desperate need of money, takes a job as a scrap iron salesman traveling the south. With no one else to turn to, Eddie's only recourse is to leave his sons with his hard-hearted, autocratic mother, even though he's aware of the soul-crushing damage she did to him and his siblings – Louie, who's tied up with the mob; Gert, who has breathing problems; and, especially, Bella, 35 going on 15 and still living with her mom.     

When the play premiered, Simon had indisputably been the most popular and successful American playwright for 30 years. In 1966, he'd had four plays running simultaneously on Broadway, and in 1983 a theatre was named after him. And yet, he, too, marveled at what he had accomplished with Lost in Yonkers. In his memoir, The Play Goes On, Simon recounted attending a tribute in his honor, where scenes from some of his plays were performed. “When they got to Lost in Yonkers, I listened in awe at the power of the words, and silently I said to myself, ‘God, I wish I could write like that.'” He added, “No one said you had to be sane to be a playwright.” 

PBD's production features Laura Turnbull as Grandma Kurnitz, Fig Chilcott (PBD debut) as Bella, Jordan Sobel as Louie, Patrick Zeller (PBD debut) as Eddie, Will Ehren (PBD debut) as Jay, Victor de Paula Rocha (PBD debut) as Arty, and Suzanne Ankrum as Gert. Scenic design is by Bert Scott, costume design is by Brian O'Keefe, lighting design is by Carolina Ortiz Herrera (PBD debut), and sound design is by Roger Arnold. Amanda Quaid (PBD debut) is the dialect coach, and casting is by McCorkle Casting Ltd. (PBD debut).

Neil Simon began his career writing for radio and then television with his older brother, Danny, most notably for Max Liebman's Your Show of Shows starring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. But he was always Broadway bound. Broadway: Come Blow Your Horn, Little Me (book), Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple (1965 Tony Award, Best Author of a Play), Sweet Charity (book), The Star-Spangled Girl, Plaza Suite, Promises, Promises (book), Last of the Red Hot Lovers, The Gingerbread Lady, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, The Sunshine Boys, The Good Doctor, God's Favorite, California Suite, Chapter Two, They're Playing Our Song (book), I Ought to Be in Pictures, Fools, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues (1985 Tony Award, Best Play), female version of The Odd Couple, Broadway Bound, Rumors, Lost in Yonkers (1991 Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award for Best Play), Jake's Women, The Goodbye Girl (book), Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Proposals, The Dinner Party, and 45 Seconds from Broadway. Off-Broadway includes London Suite. Films: Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, The Out-of-Towners, Plaza Suite, The Heartbreak Kid, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, Murder by Death, The Sunshine Boys, The Goodbye Girl, The Cheap Detective, California Suite, Chapter Two, Seems Like Old Times, Only When I Laugh, I Ought to Be in Pictures, Max Dugan Returns, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and Lost in Yonkers. Simon (1927-2018) was one of the recipients of the 1995 Kennedy Center Honors and was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2006.

The West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority and West Palm Beach Arts & Entertainment District are additional sponsors of PBD's 25th Anniversary Season.

Tickets for all performances are $92, except for opening night ($107) and previews ($72). Evening performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30pm, and matinee performances are Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2pm. Post-performance discussions follow Wednesday and Thursday matinees.  

All performances, prices, and dates subject to change. 

Palm Beach Dramaworks is a professional, nonprofit theatre company founded in 2000 and located in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach. Each season, the award-winning company produces five shows and offers a wide variety of programs for students at the theatre and in schools. Committed to fostering the future of theatre, PBD has become a hub for playwrights in Florida and around the country to nurture their work through the Perlberg Festival of New Plays. PBD is a member of Theatre Communications Group, Florida Professional Theatres Association, the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, and the National New Play Network.

The Don & Ann Brown Theatre is located in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, at 201 Clematis Street. For ticket information contact the box office at (561) 514-4042, or visit tickets.palmbeachdramaworks.org.

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