Playwright: Neil Simon
At: Eclipse Theatre at Victory Gardens, 2257 N. Lincoln
Phone: (773) 871-3000; $18-$22
Runs through: Aug. 31
If you want to see an almost perfectly constructed play, Neil Simon’s Lost in Yonkers might be a good choice. Simon demonstrates the kind of craft that comes only from seasoned experience, the kind of emotion that comes only from someone used to mining the terrain of the heart, and the thematic structure that springs from an artist at his peak. Lost in Yonkers is entertaining and thought provoking. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. You’ll think. And, in its honest, unerring portrait of a family, you just might recognize your own experience. Not that Simon’s multi-generational Jewish family from a working-class suburb of New York City has anything in common with you, but who hasn’t felt the peculiar love/hate dynamics that define family?
It’s 1942 and Eddie has come for a rare visit to his flinty mother, with his wiseacre sons Arty and Jay in tow. Eddie is in a desperate situation. He needs $9,000 to repay a loan shark for debts incurred to keep his now-deceased wife comfortable while she succumbed to cancer. He hates to do it, but in order to make the money, he must fall on his mother’s goodwill (which is in extremely short supply) and request that she care for his sons while he goes off to raise what was then a small fortune. His mother refuses, but her childlike, 35-year-old daughter, Bella shows some moxie and insists that the boys stay with them; otherwise, she’s leaving. Bella is the heart of the play. Even though one of the boys says of her, tapping his forehead, ‘closed for repairs.’ It’s Bella’s innocence and not quite ‘there’ quality that gives the play its emotional depth and resonance. Throughout the course of the boys’ 10-month stay, the family (including mob henchman brother Louie) learn a lot about getting along, acceptance, and honesty.
Eclipse Theatre Company, who, for the last several years, have made it their business to showcase the work of one playwright, cap their Neil Simon season with this 1991 Pulitzer Prize winner. And they do a pretty fair job with his script, limning its deep emotional reservoirs for humor and pathos. Steve Scott’s direction is crisp and never loses sight of the 1940s setting and frame of reference. Josh Hovarth’s sound design is evocative; Hollie Elliot’s costumes not only shine for their historical accuracy, but for their subtle expression of character. And Mike Winkleman’s tiny Yonkers apartment, with its floral-patterned wallpaper, bowl of fruit on the dining room table, and lace doily covered furniture is right on target.
The entire cast does exemplary work. Particularly outstanding were eighth grader Zach Gray, as Arty. Gary nails the younger brother’s pluckiness and strength with just the right amount of credibility. Cece Klinger, as Aunt Bella, brings out the childlike, and sometimes childish, innocence of her character perfectly. She shows us the crux of the character’s blend of little girl and woman with subtlety and depth. My only quibble with the ensemble is their attempts to do New York accents, which are all over the board, mostly unconvincing and sometimes just plain distracting (Stephanie Bickel is the dialect coach). If a company can’t be consistent and convincing with dialects, they are better off not attempting them at all. That’s the case here. Lynne Hall’s grandmother, however, has a pretty good German accent. It’s too bad that Hall is miscast. Although she gives it her all, she is too young for the role.
All in all, though, this Lost in Yonkers is competent entertainment. Although Eclipse’s production is only slightly above average, Simon’s powerful story transports us to a different time and place, and ensnares us in its chaotic, but loving, vision.