Arts & Entertainment
Review: 'Lost in Yonkers' by Two Planks Theater Company
The play by Neil Simon closes this weekend at Two Planks in Monroe.
Did you ever notice there’s something wrong with everyone on Pop’s side of the family?"
Monroe, CT - Two Planks Theater Company concludes their third full season with a production of the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-Winning ‘Lost in Yonkers.’ The play was written by America’s great comic playwright Neil Simon, the author of ‘The Odd Couple,’ ‘Barefoot in the Park,’ and ‘The Goodbye Girl.’ This memory play is set in 1942 and deals with a highly dysfunctional family living in a small apartment in Yonkers, New York.
The play has two roles for preteen boys, the children shown in the show’s poster. There were definitely some laughs mixed in with the drama, but much of that drama bordered on difficult to watch, especially the hard line taken by the tight-fisted paternal Grandma Kurnitz with her four adult children and two grandchildren. Perhaps I was expecting something along the lines of ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs,’ which I remembered as being much lighter fare. With the exception of the character of Bella, the mentally challenged aunt living with her mother, I found it hard to care about the trajectory of the lives of this family, although I tried my best to follow along.
This is not to take away from the excellent performances by the members of the Two Planks cast. Susan Halliwell directed the seven actors with care, with Brooke Burling serving as the play’s producer. Rob Primorac designed the good lighting and Mr. Burling designed the set that was austere by necessity, but highly functional. Kudos to costume designer Bella Pisani (who appeared briefly onstage in the Two Plank’s ‘Gypsy’ last summer) on a change for every one of the scenes; the ensembles fit both the period and the characters very well.
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Two Planks Theater Company’s ‘Lost in Yonkers’ runs through May 14. Performances are Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 5 pm. The company’s mainstage season productions are presented at the United Methodist Church, 515 Cutlers Farm Road in Monroe.
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Nancy Sasso Janis is a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle and continues to contribute theatre news to local Patch.com sites. Check out her Facebook page Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and follow her on Twitter @nancysjanis417