Review of Lost In Yonkers, at Costa Mesa Playhouse January 24 - February 16th, 2020

You have a small window of time left to catch some fine acting in a local theater production of "Lost In Yonkers" at the Costa Mesa Playhouse.  And you really do not want to miss this show. It’s a top-notch cast and moving production of Neil Simon’s nostalgic look backwards at a time when some things might be simpler, but others, like family dynamics, can be complicated.  This play offers a meatier balance between Simon's usual comedy and nostalgia. And by the time the show is over it is clear why it earned him a well-deserved Pulitzer Prize.

Most of the action, as  in "Brighton Beach Memoirs," is filtered through the eyes of a teenage boy, in this case, 15-year-old Jay (Jude Henderson) and younger brother, Arty (Vincent Pernia) who is 13 and much more of a smart-aleck than his big brother. Jay struggles to make a trying situation bearable by carrying out his responsibilities with as little push-back and as much duty as he can muster, while Arty gets by on wily wise-cracks and needed humor in a home where laughs are in short supply. 

The play’s main conflict revolves around a growing struggle between the battle-ax of a grandmother, Grandma Kurnitz, already reluctantly tasked to raise her grandchildren and her daughter, Bella, who was born with a challenge and is treated like a child-woman. Her mother hid Bella from life because she does not want any trouble arising from Bella's childlike nature. Grandma Kurnitz’s powerful need for control and Bella's rising need for personal freedom slowly turns the play into a roiling cauldron of emotion which the cast movingly brings to life.

Her son Eddie (poignantly played by Brock Joseph), is brokenhearted after the loss of this wife to cancer which used up all his savings to while she was in treatment. Joseph is a wonderfully loving "Eddie" who brings an emotional depth to his work on stage.

The growing tension between mother and daughter unexpectedly blows up toward the end of the play and the audience learns along with the characters in the play that both hope and courage can springs from a family's least likely source, in this case, from the over-protected, fragile and intellectually challenged daughter Bella (Jami Bartlett).  The confrontation scene between Bella and Grandma Kurnitz, the no-nonsense, tough as nails German battle-ax of an elderly mother, is artfully delivered by Phyllis M. Nofts as Grandma and in a complex emotional performance by Jami Bartlett.

Bartlett’s Bella is standout.  She uses every bone in her body to communicate that which her mind cannot find words for, much in the way that a plant in a dark room reaches for just a sliver of light -- and Bartlett’s energetic, rich portrayal of Bella, is a performance of with enormous physicality, which seems appropriate for her character's triumph of reaching for joy and humanity over darkness and repression. Bartlett's work offers a needed window into how wise and observant Bella truly is under what others see as a childlike demeanor.  

In the end, after Bella finds her footing toward a needed emancipation from her mother the breakthrough seems to lighten the entire family.  By claiming her own freedom she reminds the family that that we all need hope to survive, without it we are lost.  

Lost in Yonkers is a must-see play filled with must-see performances. It is rare to see a production as polished and engaging as this one with actors all doing their best work and are fully committed to bringing Simon’s rich play to life with talent and assurance.

Huge shout out to set design and costume design for their wonderfully detailed, lovingly captured set of "Lost In Yonkers." They were as detailed and perfect as one would expect from a top quality regional theater. 

Director Wendy Ruth encouraged her actors to forage deeply within to infuse their characters with depth and color. Her production is both moving and entertaining yet has a sensitive pacing which neither bogs the actors down or rushes them through the lighter moments.

Costa Mesa Playhouse has delivered the kind of top quality theater we should all support and strive to see.  Nothing is quite as magical as seeing the alchamy of fine writing delivered by those who have the talent to bring the writing to life.  I hope all local theater goers are lucky enough to get tickets to “Lost in Yonkers” now playing through Februrary 16th.  

Costa Mesa Playhouse.

http://CostaMesaPlayhouse.com

Address: 661 Hamilton Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92627

Phone: (949) 650-5269