Lost in Yonkers (Drama, Plume)
by Neil Simon
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Book Summary Information
Author: Neil SimonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1993-01-01
ISBN: 0452268834
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Plume
Book Reviews of Lost in Yonkers (Drama, Plume)
Book Review: Among Simon's Finest
Summary: 5 Stars
He began his career as gag writer who quickly progressed to a series of popular comedies--but in recent years Neil Simon's plays have become less about getting laughs than creating character studies. The 1991 LOST IN YONKERS is precisely such a work, a play in which humor is incidental to the characters rather than intrinsic to the situations they experience.
Set in 1942, the play focuses on brothers Jay and Artie, whose father has gone into debt and must now accept a war-time job that requires extensive travel. Recently widowed, he leaves his sons with his sister and mother--the former a child-like creature who seems largely unable to function in the real world, the latter a German-born dragon who, embittered by a very difficult life, equates any show of emotion with weakness. So far as Grandma Kurnitz is concerned, the boys are unwelcome guests, and if they are to live under her roof they must follow her ironclad-inflexible rules.
Although the children drive the action of the play, the heart of the story rests in the stormy relationship between Grandma Kurnitz and daughter Bella, over whom Grandma Kurnitz has exacted a truly terrible authority. The presence of the boys seems to incite Bella to rebellion--and when that assumes tangible shape the truth of Grandma Kurnitz's personality is revealed, a truth that is both terrible and very human and which leaves us with a mixture of sorrow, admiration, and even love for this extremely difficult woman.
Over the years Simon has received numerous critical accolades for his work, and in this area LOST IN YONKERS proved remarkably successful, winning five Tony Awards including one for Best Play, four Drama Desk awards including one for Outstanding New Play, and ultimately the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was also a great success with the public, running seven hundred eighty performances in its original production and proving a favorite in regional and community theatre as well. As for my own assesment--I am not always enthusiastic about Simon's plays, but even I have to say that LOST IN YONKERS is a dramatic gem, memorable in both characters and story. Recommended.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Simon, Neil Books
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