Riverside Theatre Presents Neil Simon's LOST IN YONKERS

Riverside Theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director/CEO Allen D. Cornell and Managing Director/COO Jon R. Moses along with Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers Group, presents Neil Simon's Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning comic drama, Lost in Yonkers. Sponsored by Bobbie Olsen and presented by Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers Group, Lost in Yonkers performs on the Stark Stage February 4-23, 2020.

Written by Neil Simon and set in Yonkers, New York, in 1942, Lost in Yonkers centers around two brothers who are sent to live with their stern German grandmother. Their mother, Evelyn Kurnitz, has just died after a lengthy illness. With mounting medical bills, her husband, Eddie, takes a job as a traveling salesman, but what should he do their two teenage boys? Eddie decides to ask his steely mother to have the boys live with her while he gets back on his feet. At first, Grandma refuses, but changes her mind when Aunt Bella convinces Grandma it would be good for the family. The boys, Jay and Arty, don't like their new living situation. What is to become of them? How do they contend with the realities of a childlike aunt, a gangster uncle, and a dad who is never there?

Lost in Yonkers was Neil Simon's last major Broadway hit and was awarded the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and four Tony Awards including Best Play.

Neil Simon's body of work is enormous, with over 60 theatrical plays, screenplays and teleplays.

Starting off as a member of the writing team for television comedy shows including "The Gary Moore Show," "Your Show of Shows," "(Sid) Caesar's Hour" and "The Phil Silvers Show", Simon's talents were combined with comic geniuses Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner and his older brother Danny.

With his honed writing abilities, Simon turned his eyes on Broadway writing a succession of hit plays. His first, Come Blow Your Horn, debuted in 1961 and was quickly followed by Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, Sweet Charity, Plaza Suite, The Sunshine Boys, California Suite, They're Playing Our Song, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound.

Lost in Yonkers accorded Simon the acknowledgment he sought as a writer of serious, critically acclaimed drama. Lost in Yonkers opened at Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York on February 21, 1991 and for 780 performances.

Riverside's production of Lost in Yonkers is directed by Chris Clavelli and stars Shami J. McCormick (Grandma Kurnitz), Emily Berman (Bella), Bergman Freedman (Jay), Jonas Cohen (Louie), Vincent Crocilla (Arty), Carine Montbertrand (Aunt Gert), and Steve Perlmutter (Eddie).

The design and production crew includes: Ray Recht (Scenic Design), Stefanie Genda (Costume Design), Todd Wren (Lighting Design), Craig Beyrooti (Sound Design), Jack Audet (Associate Sound Design) and Audrey M. Brown (Stage Manager). Casting was done in New York City by Wojcik / Seay Casting.

Lost in Yonkers performs February 4-23, 2020 on the Stark Stage at Riverside Theatre. Tickets start at $35. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 772-231-6990 or online at www.riversidetheatre.com.

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