Director's Note
I have been spending a lot of time in Westchester lately. Being out and about in a variety of nearby magical towns near where my sister lives made me recollect on Neil Simon's play Lost in Yonkers. I enjoy unusual, quirky plays that are not easy to categorize. So much of what we see today in popular media is designed to be easily understood and to fit neatly into our expectations.
There is nothing wrong with consuming stories in this way. Such narratives are like comfort food for our imaginations. In fact, from the 1960s through the 1980s, Neil Simon was the master of providing the public with what they wanted and what they expected. His comedies were phenomenally popular box office hits. He is the only person ever to have four shows running on Broadway at the same time and has received more combined Oscar and Tony nominations than any other writer. He was the master of the well-crafted joke and his comedies were well-oiled, laugh-generating machines.
But it is wonderful when we have the chance to be delighted by something unexpected, and tonight Mr. Simon will surprise anyone acquainted with his earlier work. Lost in Yonkers does not feel like a “Neil Simon Comedy.” Its structure, characters, and story are like nothing else from this playwright. The comedy is distinctly non-formulaic. It is sometimes hard to know what we should feel about each character. Yet we are intrigued, we care, and we laugh--at times, in spite of ourselves. This is what led this play to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1991.
What a great accomplishment from this master of comedy!
Enjoy being surprised.
