Lost in Yonkers
Neil Simon
Guthrie Theater

We highly enjoyed Friday’s Guthrie Theater presentation of Neil Simon’s Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Lost in Yonkers.

Set in a borough wrought with gangsters, henchmen and air-conditioned movie theaters around World War II, the seven character story follows the crisis and resolution of one family over the course of the summer of ‘42.

At the heart of the story is an austere German grandmother (portrayed wonderfully by Rosaleen Linehan), whose two grandsons find themselves camped on her couch as their father works off his debts across the country. We come to learn that like most families, this one has its share of drama, dysfunction and a longingness for happiness.

By writing in the gray area between drama-filled comedy and comedy-touched drama, Simon’s Yonkers evoked blink-backed tears and NYC-accented guffaws. Drawing on his experiences growing up in New York City, Simon paints a touching picture of adolescent innocence, pride and acceptance. Definitely worth seeing twice.

Lost in Yonkers runs at Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theater through November 12.