By AARON KRAUSE
When you hear the name Neil Simon, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is comedy. Indeed, the late great playwright’s early work is most notable for, among other things, snappy punch lines.
But Simon’s talent extends beyond his ability to make people laugh. This is especially evident in some of his later works, such as his 1990 comic-drama, Lost in Yonkers. If you experience this play, you’ll probably agree that Simon was equally skilled at profoundly touching audiences.
South Florida audiences may very well reach that conclusion soon. That is because Palm Beach Dramaworks (PBD), a professional, nonprofit theater company in West Palm Beach, will kick off its 2024-25 season by staging Lost in Yonkers. Specifically, the production will run from Nov. 1-23 at PBD’s intimate theater space on Clematis Street in West Palm Beach.
“It is both a superb comedy and a very moving drama,” says Julianne Boyd, an experienced live theater director who has helmed PBD’s production. “The structure of the play is simply beautiful as Simon takes us from comedy to drama and back again. The brilliant blend of both dramatic forms (comedy and drama) is why, I think, it won these awards.”
To be specific, Boyd is referring to the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. Lost in Yonkers captured the Pulitzer in 1991 and a Tony for best play, also in 1991.
When the play begins in 1942 in New York, Evelyn Kurnitz has just died from a lengthy illness. Her husband, Eddie Kurnitz, needs to take a job as a traveling salesman to pay the medical bills incurred. Therefore, he decides to ask his stern and straight-talking German mother (from whom he is slightly estranged) if his two teenage sons, Arty and Jay, can live with her and her child-like adult daughter, Bella Kurnitz. The women live above the family’s candy store in Yonkers, N.Y.
“Grandma Kurnitz” initially refuses her son’s request to take in his children. But after Bella makes a threat, Grandma lets Jay and Arty live with them even without ever indicating that they could stay.
Certainly, it may seem enticing for youngsters to live above a candy store, but Jay and Artie’s experience with their relatives will hardly be all sweet. For starters, the boys are afraid of Grandma Kurnitz. In addition, they initially find it hard to relate to Bella. Her slow mental state becomes obvious after one witnesses her constant excitability and short attention span.
As if the boys don’t already have enough problems, one of Eddie’s and Bella’s other siblings, Louie Kurnitz, returns home. He is a henchman for gangsters. In particular, Louie is hiding out from “Hollywood Harry,” who wants what Louie stole and is hiding in his small black bag.
Jay and Arty’s mission becomes deciding how to make money quickly, so that they can help their father and move back in with him. But this may entail stealing the $15,000 their grandmother has hidden somewhere. Meanwhile, Bella’s mission is to find a way to tell the family that she wants to marry Johnny, a mentally slow movie theater usher. Certainly, Bella and Johnny could use $5,000 of Grandma’s money to open their dream restaurant. Finally, Louie’s short-term mission is simply to survive the next couple of days.
In addition to Bella and Louie, the boys also meet their Aunt Gert. Due to trauma instilled by her mother (Grandma Kurnitz), Gert has a tendency to suck in while speaking.
Fig Chilcott, who is playing Bella, says she can identify with her character; she inspires hope.
“Aunt Bella is (who) I hope to be,” Chilcott says. “She’s me at my best. She isn’t beaten down by the harsh realities of this world, she is inspired by it. Her goal is to take good care of the people around her and leave them feeling just a little bit better than before. Bella is full of hope. What people would consider idiocy is really her brilliant honesty. She doesn’t smooth edges, she doesn’t sugar coat, she is truthful in everything she does. And, most of all, Bella is kind. I didn’t know this was a dream role until I booked it. Now I’m having the time of my life saying words I wholeheartedly believe.”
Chilcott says she’s looking forward to sharing Lost in Yonkers with audiences. It’s her first time performing in a Simon play, although she has done scene work from his other plays.
“I think audiences will appreciate the silliness of this piece as well as the heartbreak,” she says. “This play is very human and it holds a mirror to some of the most difficult truths this world has to teach us.
“The play doesn’t shy away from the great challenges that come with being part of a family. One scene will have you chuckling and the next scene will have you in tears. Neil Simon doesn’t hold back either. He lets each punch land, giving you time to reflect back to your own town, your own home, your own family. I consider this his most thoughtful play. And therefore his strongest. Audiences can expect a full experience. You will laugh as well as cry, so bring tissues.”
How does an actor prepare for a role? Let Chilcott take you inside her preparation to play Bella.
“The first thing I did was round up some wonderful actors at The Actors Studio in NYC and ask them to play around with the material,” she says. “I explored the first scene in session and found what I consider Bella’s ‘root.’ The thing she needs most in the world. Scene by scene, I comb the words for Bella’s actions. What do I do to get what I want? How do I go about getting it? I use these findings to identify my intentions and needs and therefore activate the scenes. Finally, and most importantly, I play. I allow my imagination to swim around in the circumstances of the play, the circumstances of the scenes. I let my imagination expand and fill in gaps learn the words and the rest is an exploration. It will be different every time. And that excites me!”
Boyd says her directorial approach for this production isn’t anything out of the ordinary.
“It’s no different from directing any other play – exploring the characters and situations as we put together cohesive storytelling,” Boyd says. “I am also concerned that I am giving equal time to both the comedy and drama in the play.”
Chilcott says she’s enjoying working with the folks at PBD.
“This is my first time working at PBD and I am loving it,” she says. “Everyone involved with this show is kind and professional. It’s an encouraging environment where I feel I can take risks in rehearsal and then rest easy back at the apartments. I am so grateful for this experience.”
Like Chilcott, Laura Turnbull is no stranger to Simon. Turnbull, who will portray Grandma Kurnitz, has also appeared in Simon’s semi-autobiographical “Brighton Beach Memoirs” at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre.
“Simon writes about real people and families in real situations and then finds the humor and heartbreak, which most every audience can relate to,” Turnbull says.
Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three Tony Awards and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for four Academy Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards. He was awarded a Special Tony Award in 1975, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1995 and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2006.
Turnbull says she’s excited to perform in Lost in Yonkers.
“This play hits home and has all the humor along with all the drama,” Turnbull says. Audiences “can expect to be captivated by a Neil Simon masterpiece,” she says.
She adds that Grandma Kurnitz is similar to her, but also different.
“She’s similar in that I am also of German descent on my mother’s side,” Turnbull says. “She’s different because I love being a mom and treat my own children very differently than she does.”
But Chilcott says audiences will come to understand Grandma on a deeper level.
“What I love about this play is the empathy we come to feel for Grandma Kurnitz,” says Chilcott, who will make her PBD debut by portraying Bella in the upcoming production. “(I love) how we learn to understand her extreme responses to her children, and how her brutality comes from a place of love. Her abuse is no longer tolerated by the end of the play, but Grandma is now understood in an empathetic way that she deserves.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Palm Beach Dramaworks’ upcoming production of Neil Simon’s “Lost in Yonkers.”
WHEN: Nov. 1-23
WHERE: PBD’s theater is located at 201 Clematis St. in West Palm Beach.
TICKETS: $72, $92, and $107. Go to www.palmbeachdramaworks.org or call (561) 514-4042.