Walpole Players will be holding auditions for our 2019 spring production of Neil Simon’s LOST IN YONKERS..
The Pulitzer Prize winning play, LOST IN YONKERS is a heartfelt and hilarious coming-of-age story about a very eccentric family by America’s great comic playwright, Neil Simon. Like many of Simon’s plays, LOST IN YONKERS is drawn from his experiences growing up in New York City. Set during World War II, two young brothers, Arty and Jay, are sent to live with their formidable German Jewish immigrant grandmother, the sweet but mentally challenged Aunt Bella, and Uncle Louie, a small-time hoodlum running away from gangsters. LOST IN YONKERS tells the story of a family coping with the challenges of keeping together during World War II and the struggles to balance love, duty, devotion, and trust with tough times.
LOST IN YONKERS is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.
AUDITION DATES:
Sunday, January 13th 4:30 to 6:00 PM
Tuesday, January 15th 6:30 to 8:00
At the Walpole Town Hall in Walpole, NH
CALLBACK DATES
As needed.
Auditions will be readings from the script.
If you have questions or are not available on the audition dates please contact Mike Wright at mikey2573@comcast.net .
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:
JAY – about 15, independent, jokester type who sometimes gets carried away with the situations going on around him; the play tells his coming-of-age story.
ARTY – Jay’s younger brother, he is 13 years old. More of an observer than the rest of his family, he often goes with the flow of things, but also can be a little childish.
EDDIE – Jay’s middle-aged father. After the death of his wife, he is forced to send his two sons to live with their grandmother, while he repays his large financial debts. He is shown to be, much like his sisters, a nervous wreck around Grandma
BELLA – Jay’s thirty-five-year-old aunt. She is sometimes a bit off-center and is mentally challenged, but despite this she is also loving and protective of her nephews. Much of the second half of the play focuses on her attempts at independence from her stern mother.
GRANDMA KURNITZ – Eddie and Bella’s mother, a big woman, buxom, with a strong and erect body, 70 odd years of age. Jay’s grandmother. A very old and stern woman. Owing to her harsh childhood, she has always been very intolerant of what in others she calls “weaknesses”. She is blunt, sometimes even in a funny way, and always knows what is going on with the people around her
LOUIE – Jay’s flamboyant, jovial uncle, in his late 30s, who comes to live with the family when he is hiding from the local mob. He is considered by Grandma Kurnitz to be the “survivor” of the family. He has a strong, mercurial nature, and a certain underlying dark side, which the kids uncover in the second act of the play. He works as a “bag-man” for the mob.
AUNT GERT – Jay’s aunt, and Grandma’s daughter. She is a very interesting addition to the family. Her most noticeable issue is that when she breathes she has a tendency to suck in while still speaking, as a result of trauma instilled in her by Grandma from a young age.
Rehearsals will be at the Walpole Town Hall in February, March, and April. Performances are April 5-6 and 12-13.
