The plays of Neil Simon used to be ubiquitous among community theaters and local playhouses. Hardly a season went by without a healthy array of The Odd Couple, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, The Good Doctor, and Rumors — to name but of few of the prolific playwright’s popular plays from the 1960s through the 1980s. His later plays — beginning with the Brighton Beach trilogy — were not only semi-autobiographical; they were more seasoned plays with plenty of comedic one-liners, but with a great deal of pathos mixed in.
Which brings us to Simon’s Lost in Yonkers, a Tony-and-Pulitzer–winning piece premiering in 1991, which might be his most mature title. Grounded in the home front during World War II, Lost in Yonkers trades the mile-a-minute dialogue and punch lines for a more domesticated story, while still providing laughs. Perhaps it’s more of a dramedy?
Find out for yourself at the Little Theatre of Alexandria and its nostalgic take on Simon’s award winner of a play. The cast is more than up to the task, and the production is given a phenomenal set design and period costumes that place it right into the early 1940s.
Teresa Preston (Gert), Jacob Perlman (Jay), Benjamin Gorini (Arty), (standing) Brian Jimenez (Louie), Sarah Cusenza (Bella), and Sally Cusenza (Grandma) in ‘Lost in Yonkers.’ Photo by Matt Liptak.
When the lights come up, the audience meets Jay and Arty, ages 15 and 13, respectively. Their widowed father, Eddie, needs to have his sons stay with his mother and sister for a while, thanks to a huge loan debt from shady men and being able to find work only out of town. The youngsters have not visited their imposing grandmother much, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Part coming-of-age story and part family drama, Lost in Yonkers thrusts the boys into a powder keg of a home. Ruled over by their imperious Grandmother Kurnitz, who emigrated from Germany years ago, the household also features the kooky and emotionally childlike Aunt Bella, age 35. The problem is: due to some developmental challenges, Bella acts less mature than Arty, but she is trapped in a woman’s body, and this adds complications to everyone’s lives.
Playing the two teenage boys at the heart of the play, Jacob Perlman and Benjamin Gorini hold their own among the more seasoned actors in the company. Perlman brings out Jay’s more neurotic qualities, while Gorini displays the pluck and backbone of the wilier of the siblings. Each of these young actors also possesses natural comic timing, a must for even these youngsters in a Neil Simon vehicle.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Sally Cusenza is the formidable, German-born grandma, wielding her cane like a battle axe and possessing such a strong stage presence that it was easy to see why her onstage children and grandchildren feared her above all else.
As scenes go, a highlight was at the top of Act II when young Arty and Grandma Kurnitz have a back and forth about her medicinal mustard soup.
In a brilliant stroke of casting by director Chantale Plante, Cusenza’s own daughter Sarah Cusenza plays Bella, the challenged and effusive aunt. The younger Cusenza physically, vocally, and emotionally brings forth a fully realized and complex performance of this complicated character. Her performance as Bella is partially guffaw-inducing and awe-inspiring, especially in the penultimate scene, where she hits her mother with some hard truths of what she has endured and her true feelings about life and survival. The mother-daughter performances were real and raw and believable in this pivotal scene.
In a key supporting role, Brian Jimenez is the ne’er-do-well criminal Uncle Louie, who comes on as a stylish and slick operator. Jimenez plays Louis to the hilt, showing his rough and ready nature while revealing a heart of gold. (September 18 to 27, Robert J. Ryley takes on the part of Louis for the remainder of the run.)
As the boys’ pop, Eddie, Joel Durgavich brings a world-weariness and sweetness to his portrayal. Teresa Preston rounds out the cast in the small but crucial role of Aunt Gert, the older aunt who suffers from a breathing condition brought on by the stress of growing up under Mrs. Kurnitz’s hard-scrabble parenting style.
The actors have a phenomenal scenic design in which to perform: the detailed and impressive setting of the well-furnished and decorated apartment above the family’s candy store looks good enough to rent out. Tom O’Reilly was the set designer and master carpenter, assisted by Charlie Boone and Connor Moalem. Lighting designed by Ari McSherry added a nostalgic glow and special moments when Eddie wrote letters home to the boys.
The costume and wardrobe department, led by designer Farrell Hartigan and wardrobe coordinators Alisa Beyninson and Maria Ciarrocchi, provided delightful period looks for the performers.
While Lost in Yonkers might not offer the laugh-a-minute style of Neil Simon’s earlier comedies, it does offer a well-made play with a lot of heart and just enough moments of dramatic tension to keep things interesting. It is also a showcase for a talented cast of actors to take audiences back to the time of ice cream sodas, ten-cent movies, and Bing Crosby on the radio, a pleasant escape that perhaps is welcome and needed right now.
Running Time: Approximately two hours and 15 minutes with one 15-minute intermission.
Lost in Yonkers plays through September 27, 2025 (Thursdays–Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 2 pm), presented by Little Theatre of Alexandria, performing at 600 Wolfe Street, Alexandria, VA. To purchase tickets ($26, reserved seating), go online or contact the Box Office via phone (703-683-0496) or email (boxoffice@thelittletheatre.com).
The program for Lost in Yonkers is online here.
For more information about the show, cast, and crew, visit thelittletheatre.com/
Lost in Yonkers
Written by Neil Simon
Directed by Chantale Plante
Produced by Eleanore Tapscott