Neil Simon's 'Yonkers'--Seltzers South Florida

NEIL SIMON'S TONY AWARD AND PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING

"LOST IN YONKERS" TO HIGHLIGHT HOLIDAY THEATRICAL

SEASON OPENING 3-WEEK RUN DECEMBER 6 AT MIAMI'S

COCONUT GROVE PLAYHOUSE WITH CELEBRATED COMEDY-

DRAMA TO FOLLOW DECEMBER 27- JANUARY 1 AS PART OF FORT LAUDERDALE SUBSCRIPTION SERIES AT PARKER PLAYHOUSE 

MIAMI/FT.LAUDERDALE---LOST IN YONKERS, the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning comedy which remains among Neil Simon's most acclaimed comedy-dramas, is set as a major theatrical highlight of the holiday season, opening in previews Tuesday, December 6, with the official opening Friday, December 9, 7:30 P.M. at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, 3500 Main Highway, Coconut Grove.

Following its three-week run though Sunday, December 24, the show will move on to Ft. Lauderdale to play Tuesday, December 27-January 1, 2006 at the Parker Playhouse,  as part of the six-play subscription series introducing the Coconut Grove Playhouse season to audiences in Broward and Palm Beach Counties.

Currently riding a wave of new-found triumphs with the Broadway revivals of "The Odd Couple," and "Barefoot in the Park," Simon, a recipient of the Coconut Grove Playhouse Lifetime Achievement Award, remains among the most prolific and celebrated playwrights produced in the United States. LOST IN YONKERS, which made its debut in 1991, and which many critics as well as theatre-goers declare to be his finest work, is generally considered to be an autobiographical look at his life growing up in the climate of World War 11.

Emotionally moving as well as hilariously comedic, because of their father Eddie's need to work elsewhere to pay off a debt, a family is disrupted when two young brothers, Arty and Jay, are forced to move in with their forbidding 'Grandma Kurnitz' and their eccentric but loving 'Aunt Bella.' Along the way, they will meet their mobster 'Uncle Louie." For many, the running theme of "survival" will especially resonate with audiences confronted with the current war in Iraq as well as the hurdles they must face to overcome such recent natural disasters as hurricanes Katrina and Wilma.

Directed by Frank Ferrante, the ensemble cast includes Patricia Buckley, Madi Distefano, Tony Freeman, Stephen Kent, Adam Levinthal, Carmen Roman, and William Zielinski.

Frank Ferrante is an actor and director. Having directed the world premiere of the Pulitzer Prize finalist, "Old Wicked Songs" for Philadelphia's Walnut Street Theatre's Independence Studio on 3, he also portrayed playwright George S. Kaufman in "By George," a one-man show which he wrote. On the Walnut Street Theatre's Mainstage, he starred in Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23^{rd Floor," "The Sunshine Boys," and starred in and directed "Groucho: A Life in Revue," which he played in New York and London, and later starred in, directed and produced as a national PBS TV program.}

Most recently, Ferrante directed the Walnut's critically acclaimed Neil Simon Trilogy: "Brighton Beach Memoirs," "Biloxi Blues," and "Broadway Bound." He is a recipient of New York's Theatre World Award, two Connecticut Critics Circle Awards, Los Angeles Drama-Logue Award, and nominations from the N.Y. Outer Critics Circle, London's Laurence Olivier, and Washington D.C.'s Helen Hayes Awards.

Paul Wonsek will design the set and lighting; sound design is by Karin Graybash.

LOST IN YONKERS is a co-production of Coconut Grove Playhouse with Philadelphia's Walnut Street Theater and Artistic Director Bernard Havard. Following Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, the production will move to Philadelphia.

Performances of LOST IN YONKERS at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, 3500 Main Highway, Coconut Grove, Florida, are Tuesday-Saturday, 8 P.M.; matinees Wednesday and Saturday, 2 P.M.; Sunday, 3 P.M. Tickets are now available from $20 at the box office by calling (305) 442-4000, or online at www.cgplayhouse.org.

Performances of LOST IN YONKERS at the Parker Playhouse, 707 N.E. 8th Street, Ft. Lauderdale. Tuesday-Saturday at 8 P.M.; matinees Wednesday and Saturday, 2 P.M.; Sunday at 3 P.M.. Season subscriptions and Holiday Gift Packages are still available by calling toll free (877) 642-7529; in Miami, (305) 442-4000; or online at www.cg.playhouse.org. Group and single tickets are available at (800) 564-9539 or (954) 462-0222.

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