گم‌شده در یانکرز

by Neil Simon, بهروز محمودی بختیاری (Translator), مینا رضاپور (Translator)

What happens to children in the absence of love? That is the question that lies at the heart of this funny and heartrending play by one of America's most acclaimed and beloved playwrights. Winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Play, and the Pulitzer Prize, "Lost in Yonkers" is Neil Simon's moving drama about the cruelties and painful memories that scar a family. It is New York, 1942. After the death of their mother, two young brothers are sent to stay with their formidable grandmother for the longest ten months of their lives. For Grandmother Kumitz is a one-woman German front - a refugee and a widow who has steeled her heart against the world. Her coldness and intolerance have crippled her own children: the boys' father has no self esteem...their Aunt Gert has an embrassing speech impediment...their Uncle Louie is a small-time gangster...and their Aunt Bella has the mentality of a child. But it is Bella's hunger for affection and her refusal to be denied love that saves the boys - that leads to an unforgettable, wrenching confrontation with her mother. Filled with laughter, tears, and insight, "Lost in Yonkers" is yet another heartwarming testament to Neil Simon's talent.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre, Fiction, Humor, Classics, Family

127 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 1992

About the author

Marvin Neil Simon was an American playwright and screenwriter. He wrote more than 30 plays and he received more combined Oscar and Tony nominations than any other writer. He was one of the most reliable hitmakers in Broadway history, as well as one of the most performed playwrights in the world. Though primarily a comic writer, some of his plays, particularly the Eugene Trilogy and The Sunshine Boys, reflect on the twentieth century Jewish-American experience.

Reviews

[Jessaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pulitzer prize winner

I have always loved Neil Simon movies, so I thought I would read 1 of his plays.

It was a story about a very dysfunctional family. A man leaves both of his sons at his mother's home while he is out looking for work. He won't be back for a year, so he says. They don't wish to stay with her because she is mean. Pure mean. Everyone in the family is afraid of her.

When the boys gangster uncle comes to visit and the boys know that he is on the run, they beg him to take them with him. It is that bad. The boys even think of running away on their own. Then they learn how to just deal with her.

At times this play is very funny, but at other times I cringe when their grandmother opens her mouth. I would have loved to watch this in a play. Just watching the grandmother act out her part would be wonderful.

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

I’m not one who generally gets real worked up when I hear of a celebrity’s death, but last week when Neil Simon passed away I have to admit I got more than a bit nostalgic. So I did what I do best – went to my best friend the library to see if they had any of Simon’s plays for me to listen to on my drive to and from work. Sadly they only had the one, but hey beggars can’t be choosers, right?

Good news is, while Lost in Yonkers wasn’t what I originally went looking for, it totally did the trick and reminded me of how when I was a kid I was pretty sure I had missed my calling and was really meant to be a born a Jewish boy in post-Depression New York City. There were a whole string of Neil Simon plays/movie adaptations that confirmed my belief, including this one as well as . . . .



and . . . .



However, what I originally sought out wasn’t one of these boyhood comedies, but rather Simon’s less-discussed side – romance. Particularly . . . . .



Though I would have happily settled for . . . .



If you haven’t had the pleasure, I highly recommend checking one out. He gives Nora Ephron a run for her money ; )

[Christopher Febles · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 40s, a widower (Eddie) needs to go away for a while to pay off a debt he incurred when his wife was sick. He leaves his tweener sons, Arty and Jay, with his surly German grandmother and his kooky sister Bella. Stopping by for a bit is his brother Louie, a shady character with possible gangster ties. Can the boys make it through a year of all this crazy?

Lots of personal context here:

• I remember seeing this on Broadway way back in the 90s. For some reason I had to leave after the first act. So reading the second act was refreshing.
• My daughter’s an actress and wants to delve into drama and comedy. Thought this was a good one for her to read. She did…in two days. *Heart swells*
• I grew up in Yonkers and lived there for many years as an adult. Of course, in the play Yonkers is just a prop. There’s no mention of any landmarks. Then again, my time there began in the 70s. So I suppose I shouldn’t have expected the boys to run down Warburton Avenue.



As always, Simon’s wordplay dazzles. Henny Youngman must’ve been whispering in his ear, because there are plenty of hilarious one-liners. You’d think they’d seem dated, but a Gen X-er like me still laughed out loud.

Awesome characters! Oh man, how does he do it? He develops backstory, sympathy, character traits, style, inner conflicts, and even physical description, all within the dialogue. I felt so part of the action, I thought someone would’ve turned to me and asked me a question.

The plot’s rooted in emotion, not action. There isn’t a big confrontation or dust-up. Instead, there’s a lot of build-up related to what the characters want, particularly Bella. As with other Simon plays, there’s a lot of thought to the meaning of love. Connection with others is prized and revered. Each major character has a monologue explaining things, which again was done perfectly. Outstanding character development here, and I wondered how a great actor would read this.

Glad I finally got to this one!

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this play years ago on Broadway

[SARAH · Rating 3 out of 5]

اثری سرگرم کننده،....در مورد سایمون نمیشه چیزی غیر از این گفت....سرگرم کننده،

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to via streaming courtesy of LATW.
While this play has quite a lot of humor, it is almost all bittersweet. The Kurnitz family is disfunctional in a way that Eugene O'Neill would recognize. Grandma Kurnitz is a German Jew who emigrated to America at some unspecified time in the past (but before WW1) and from the very start of the play, it is clear that this is no doting grandma but to the contrary a harsh and strict one. As the play unfolds, both the audience and the boys slowly come to learn something of her background and to understand that appearance isn't everything.

The character of the boys' aunt Bella is a masterpiece. Bella is mentally challenged as a result of a severe childhood illness (scarlet fever??). She is treated by the adults of the family as a child and while her siblings love her and try to protect her, they don't really take her seriously. But despite her disability - or perhaps because of it - she is the only one who understands Grandma Kurnitz and eventually the one who can tell her the truth about things.

[Kourosh Ghaniyoun · Rating 4 out of 5]

عمه بلاي دوست داشتني!
تو اين ٤ روزي كه نمايشنامه رو ميخوندم، تو هر صحنه از هر پرده، يه نگاه جديد و متفاوت نسبت به مادربزرگ رو از كاراكترا دريافت مي كردم؛ لوئي، بلا، جي، ادي... اين جذاب ترين بخش اين اثر شوخ طبع و روان براي من بود.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in Performing Arts and I absolutely loved it. Some parts did drag on though but I recommend it if your looking for a play.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lost in Yonkers is a play by Neil Simon. It takes place in the 1940s. Jay and Artie are two teenage brothers. Artie is 13 and Jay 15.Their mother has died and their father Eddie needs to earn some money to pay a loan shark the money he borrowed to pay the hospital bills for his wife who died of cancer. Eddie goes to his childhood home his mother lives. She has an apartment over the candy store the family has owned for decades. Jay and Artie have to live with grandma and their aunt Bella. Grandma is a mean old lady who has always been tough on her family. Aunt Bella is in her mid thirties but is in ways childlike and not very smart. For about eight months Artie and Jay must live with these woman over the candy store.Their Uncle Louie and man tied in with some bad people where he gets his money from also drops in to live there for awhile. This play has a lot of humor and some said moments as well.Grandma is a mean old woman from Germany. Bella is their sweet aunt who just wants to find someone to love her.A good well done play. I saw the movie many times and it is very similar to the play except in the movie we see Johnny a man Bella wants to marry and in the play we never see Johnny. I liked this play a lot. Glad I got the chance to read.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not all that familiar with Simon's plays in the second half of his career. This one - generally pleasing and well-structured - seems to have some ambitions that it wants to realize; yet it ultimately seems satisfied not to. Those ambitions run along the lines of O'Neill. Since that's the case, we would need more time with these characters than we're given.

But there's a catch. Simon's play is gentler, more nostalgic than 'Long Day's Journey Into Night'. The characters (for the most part) are all living through their own personal pain or lack of contentment. But these are still softer people, drawn with fewer brushstrokes. The bulk of them all get their moment 'to shine' (as it were) - so we basically understand the roots of their malaise.

They don't swim in oceans of bitterness and regret, as O'Neill's family does.

The upshot is that we're apt to feel a bit short-changed. We get just enough drama, we get some welcome comic relief, we get to feel slightly uncomfortable - but then all is well at the end.

Overall, Simon has written nice roles for actors. Even if they feel a bit slight on the page, there's enough there for good actors to take over and embellish. The play is an audience-pleaser; it's no surprise it won some major awards.

[☯Emily Ginder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd love to share with you why I thought this play was a great play by Neil Simon. However, as I'm not sure how I might step over Goodread's invisible line for appropriate, on-topic content, I will refrain until such time as the guidelines are made clear, easily accessible, and announced to all members.



http://emilyg.booklikes.com/post/6757...

[Roula Jamal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the best book I've read ever. I recommend this book for you to read specially for 7th graders and up . This book teaches you so many things in life.

[Lucie Nash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just a lovely play, but one of the best written and most cleverly constructed of all the plays I've performed in.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I prefer Simon's family comedy dramas to his other work. To me, some of his contemporary comedies are aging poorly and suffer from overproduction. But when he writes in a slightly historical sense, as with this play, he's wonderful.

The story is about two boys, beginning to see the first glimmerings of adulthood, whose father must go on the road during WWII to sell scrap iron because he is in trouble with a loan shark. The boys have to stay with their tough as nails German refugee grandmother in the apartment where she lives above her candy shop. There's also Aunt Bella, who is not quite right in the head, but generous of spirit and perhaps more able than her mother has ever let her become, now secretly involved in her first relationship. The other important character is Uncle Louie, a small-time hood whose charisma attracts the boys but whose character may be lacking.

I like that Simon doesn't take any easy outs here. The characters all grow, but they don't change in ways that are unrealistic. There are some very funny moments. This is a script that good actors could do a lot with.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had this on my shelves for about two years waiting for the right time to read it. I've never seen it performed on stage or even on TV, so the whole thing came as a complete surprise to me. It starts off in typical Simon fashion with a lot of jokey one-liners (that are quite excellent) but eventually evolves into something deeper and more thoughtful.

[Christian Engler · Rating 5 out of 5]

First and foremost, Neil Simon is a brilliant playright, and Lost in Yonkers is another feather in his cap. Set in Yonkers, New York in 1942 during the second world war, two children-Jay and Artie-must stay for one year (while a debt is being cleared by their father) with their cold-hearted, inflexible, emasculating and miserly Grandmother Kurnitz, a hardened survivor and also a woman whose own inner emotional "icing up" (because of her own uncommunicated tragedy) turned her own kids into a petty thug (Louie), a childlike simpleton (Bella), a castrated doormat (Eddie) and a stuttering fool whom many privately mock (Aunt Gert). And under the intense conditions that this one woman evokes, Jay and Artie must struggle to live or rather survive, for a house without love or any caliber of human warmth whatsoever can quickly change these two boys from innocence and humor to the very spitting image of their deeply flawed aunts and uncle, and they themselves realize this; they must be steely and unfeeling, as their grandmother would love to have happen, for anything opposite that would be a sign of weakness and failure. And that is what makes Lost in Yonkers sad, disturbing and frightening, because those very elements are the ingredients for a very dysfunctional adulthood, and that is sometimes the worst weapon of all--the lacking of human love and warmth. But with the strict, life-sucking obedience that the kids must adhere to in order for there to be some semblance of peace and cohesion, one would think that there would be no possible glimmer of hope at all. Yet, the hope comes in the form of Jay and Artie's childlike aunt, Bella, whose simplicity will simply not allow her to be an unfeeling android who goes through the motions of life. She yearns for love and demands it, if not from her very mother than from her nephews and those whom she tries to date and form relationships with: "...But I'll never stop wanting what I don't have...It's too late to go back for me...Maybe I'm still a child but now there's just enough woman in me to make me miserable. We have to learn to deal with that somehow, you and me...And it can never be the same anymore...(She gets up) I'll put my things away...I think we've both said enough for today...don't you?" (P. 114). Bella's audacity to finally stand up and against her mother's cold stranglehold shifts the whole play and all its characters-though Gert and Louie seem so far gone and too steeped in their own problems to be redeemed-to a higher realm of betterment and potential, specificially for Jay and Arty, who have quitely borne their misery with fear and sharp wit and one-liners, while Bella and Grandmother Kurnitz have also somehow emotionally improved, if only minutely. But the next generation has been spared the wrath. Lost in Yonkers is about fear in the family, the sufferings that family's can inflict upon one another and ultimately redemption through that suffering. Lost in Yonkers is a true American play.

[Autumn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up at the library at random yesterday and read it this morning. Still reeling at the fact that it won a Pulitzer Prize.

I almost hate to give it two stars because the dialogue was enjoyable to read for the most part, maybe except for some scene openers. The characters were, overall, written well, best example being Louie. However, the story was a mess. There was so little done to flesh it out. We never know how Oma gets to being content at the end, what the boys have actually done in the time daddy's gone, or what's even up with the sister whose name I forgot. Don't even get me started on dead mom.

[Selena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe that Lost In Yonkers was a really good play. It is not the first play that I have read, but it is the first one that I was given a writing prompt on so to write my own script, whether for stage or for camera. The characters were very developed, so maybe more than others. The first ones are Jay and Arty. I felt like they were used mostly as plot devices. They were developed with this backstory of losing their mother. Then they are faced with this dilemma of having to live with a grandmother that they really don't know. You learn that Jay is the older and more practical sibling. He can mostly see through his weird family's bull and doesn't give in, except when it is absolutely necessary. You also learn that he has plans to help his family, and that he cares about, even though they are very messed up. You learn that Arty is the younger and more sarcastic brother. He seems to understand the situation that their family is in, but tries to make light of it anyway. They are both protagonists in the story. Eddie is the boy's father and one of the sons of Grandma Kurnitz. He is emotionally messed up because of the trauma that he was put through as a child, and also because of the trauma that happened to losing his wife and going into debt. He is only present at the very beginning and the very end of the play. This is because in duration of the play, he is gone finding scrap metal to be able to get out of debt. Grandma Kurnitz's story is sad. She lived a hard life, and because of it, tried to raise her kids to be tough and strong, but because of their upbringing, it sent some of them in the wrong direction, making them emotionally, and in some cases, mentally, and physically weak. Uncle Louie is portrayed and developed to be the "strong" son out of the two. He is physically the strongest character in the play, and is developed through backstory to be the most mentally and emotionally strong. This is somewhat changed at the end of the play, where it is revealed that Louie went and joined the army, therefore kind of saying that he wasn't "strong" enough to handle his mistakes. Aunt Bella's story is the most developed out of all the characters. it is told through dialogue is that her backstory is that her mother abused her just like her siblings, but hers led to the fact that Bella would essentially have the mind of a child for the rest of her life. Therefore, she has to rely on her mother for the rest of her life. She wants love and affection, since it is something that she never really received, so she does things to try and get it, even if it gets her in hot water with her mother. There are multiple themes in this play. Some of them include death, fear of failure, strength, both inner and outer, innocence, and family. Death is portrayed through not only the death of the mother and wife, but also through the death of two of Grandma's other kids when they were younger and also the loss of her kids father. This death has an influence on the way that Grandma thinks of things. She rarely talks about the kids she lost, and when she does, it's to use them as an example of how strong she is for the fact that she didn't cry when she lost all of these people. Fear of failure is mostly presented in Eddie's case. He has a fear of not being able to pay off his debt, and therefore keeping his kids in debt. Strength is a very prevalent theme in this play. It is shown in many ways, including what it means to be strong, how to become strong, and how to not let weakness show. This is mostly through Grandma, Eddie, and Louie. Grandma at one point tells Arty that it doesn't matter whether or not he likes her, just that he is alive. She also says that it is something she could never teach Eddie. This shows that maybe she does the abuse to try and prepare them for the real world, but it doesn't help. It is also mentioned that when approached, Eddie would back down and give in to his mother, making him seem weak. It is also said that Louie wouldn't and keep pressing until eventually the grandmother backed down. It might be the reason that the grandmother has seemingly more respect for Louie than Eddie. Outer strength is mentioned through mostly Louie's physical appearance, and that in turn turns into the line of work that Louie was involved in. Innocence is important in the play because it seems that because of their upbringing, Grandma Kurnitz's kids lost some, if not all of their innocence. It is shown through the way they think things through. It also affects Jay and Arty in the fact that, in living with Grandma, they might lose the little bit of innocence they have left after losing their mother. Family I feel is the most theme in the whole play. It is important because no matter how messed up this family is, or the things that they go through, they continue to be there for each other. The plot of the play is fairly simple, to some degree. Eddie has to go away, so his boys has to stay with their grandmother. They have to deal with the circumstances of their family, while also trying to get over the death of their mother, and trying to grow up. This play doesn't exactly have a point of view. Watching it on the stage would mean that the audience would be watching it. The setting is in this house in Yonkers. It is during the second World War, giving the story some historical tones. The social conditions would be that of what is required of men and women at the time, considering that men were expected to go to war, and women were expected to be at home, or taking on jobs that weren't manned because of the soldiers. Most of their conflict includes human vs. self, and human vs. human.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This funny and wrenching Neil Simon play will win your heart. Two teenage boys are forced to live with their tough, cranky German grandmother and other dsyfunctional relatives. Some memorable lines:
"Ma always knew what was goin' on. She could tell if there was salt missin' from a pretzel."
"Did you know you could love somebody who died before you were born?"
"I'm afraid of her Jay. A horse fell on her when she was a kid and she hasn't taken an aspirin yet."

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lost in Yonkers, which won Neil Simon a Tony and a Pulitzer, comes from the period of his career where he was trying to be more than just a wildly successful comedy playwright. There are definitely some funny one-liners here, but it’s a dysfunctional-family dramedy rather than an outright laugh riot. I can also sense the influence of other canonical American plays like Awake and Sing! , which is also about a poor Jewish-American family living in a cramped New York apartment in the first half of the 20th century.

The premise of the play is that 15-year-old Jay and 13-year-old Arty have to live with their stern, terrifying grandmother in Yonkers during WWII, so that their dad, Eddie, can take a job as a traveling salesman. (In an ironic touch, Grandma owns a candy store, but there's nothing sweet about her.) But down-on-his-luck, widowed Eddie still might be the most well-adjusted of Grandma’s kids: Aunt Bella is kind but intellectually disabled, Aunt Gert is a spinster who has trouble breathing whenever she’s at Grandma’s house, and Uncle Louie is a small-time gangster.

So all the ingredients are here for a rich character study of some quirky people, but something about the structure of Act Two feels unsatisfying. The climax of the play is a big confrontation between Grandma and Bella—and it’s also the only scene where neither of the two boys is present. So that kind of destroys the idea that this is meant to be a coming-of-age story focused on the brothers and the lessons they learn from their year in Yonkers. Then, after that big confrontation, there is a time-jump of 9 months, and Eddie has returned from his travels to retrieve his sons, but I felt like probably a lot of interesting and dramatic things happened during that 9-month interval that we didn’t get to see. There are also a few Chekhov’s-gun things in Act One—Uncle Louie carries a pistol, and the boys try to find a secret stash of cash that Grandma is rumored to have—that don’t really pay off in Act Two.

[Zahra Solhdar · Rating 4 out of 5]

داستان از جایی شروع می‌شود که ادی، پدر آرتی و جی برای یک بدهکاری مجبور است راهی یک سفر کاری شود تا بتواند بدهی‌اش را در مدت کوتاه‌تری پرداخت کند.

او مجبور می‌شود پسرها را به خانه‌ی مادربزرگشان ببرد و تا زمانی که برمی‌گردد آن‌ها را به او بسپارد. مادربزرگی بسیار خشک و عصاقورت‌داده‌ که بخاطر اتفاقی در کودکی پایش آسیب دیده و همیشه عصا به دست راه می‌رود. �� البته عمه‌ای به نام بلا دارند که مجرد است و آنجا پیش مادربزرگ زندگی می‌کند.

چون همسر ادی باعث شده بود که با مادربزرگ رفت و آمد نداشته باشند برای همین او ابتدا بسیار تند برخورد می‌کند و ماندن نوه‌هایش را نمی‌پذیرد و از اینکه در طی این سال‌ها به دیدنش نرفتند خشمی در وجودش نهفته است.

با اصرار بالاخره می‌پذیرد و پسرها می‌مانند. در طی مدتی که پدرشان نیست اتفاقاتی در خانواده می‌افتد و آن‌ها روزهای سختی را می‌گذرانند. عمویشان لویی و عمه‌ی دیگرشان به نام گرت هم وارد داستان می‌شوند.

آنچه در پس پرده‌ی این نمایشنامه نهفته بود بسیار قابل تحسین است. در دیالوگ‌ها گریزی به کودکی زده می‌شود. اینکه تمام رفتارهای مادربزرگ از همان کودکی نشئت گرفته است. اینکه پدرش مدام می‌گفت باید در هر شرایطی قوی باشی و گریه نکنی. او جوری رشد یافته که همچون فولاد سفت و سخت شده است. طوری که بتواند سختی‌ها را تاب آورد.

تمام احساس‌های فروخورده‌ و سرکوب‌شده‌اش موجب می‌شود که حتا به فرزندانش هم محبتش را ابراز نکند. دریغ از یک دوستت دارم. در حالی که در جای جای داستان می‌بینی فرزندانش سعی می‌کنند او را ببوسند یا محبتشان را ابراز کنند. اما امان از الگوهای کودکی و تنبیه‌هایی که بر فرزندان روا داشته و باعث شده هر کدامشان به نوعی رنجی را به دوش بکشند که تاب و توان را ازشان گرفته. از بلا که دچار کمبود عاطفه است و لویی که از خانه فرار کرده و خلافکار شده تا گرت که بخاطر اتفاقی در کودکی‌اش حالا نفس کم می‌آورد برای حرف زدن و میان جملاتش مکثی بلند دارد. گویا ترسی کشنده همچنان تا چهل سالگی همراهش مانده است.

تقصیر مادربزرگ نیست. او هم تاثیراتی گرفته که تا پیری گریبان‌گیرش هستند.

نمایشنامه‌ای روان و خوش‌خوان است و با وجود سادگی‌اش، درون‌مایه‌‌ای قابل تامل دارد.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading the play “LOST IN YONKERS” by NEIL SIMON. I read this book while listening to the audible version narrated by BARBARA BAIN, DAN CASTELLANETA and FULL CAST. This play is about two young boys who are forced to live for a year with their domineering, ill-tempered grandmother while their father takes a job in another state is beautifully realized by the L.A. Theatre Works cast. Like most of Simon's works, this one features an eccentric cast of characters. Listeners meet Aunt Gert (played by Gia Carides), whose voice frequently switches into a wheeze midsentence, and Uncle Louie (played by Dan Castellaneta), a Bogart-like gangster. This production realizes Simon's trademark mix of comedy and drama: the one-liners are hilarious, but the characters' sad, dysfunctional relationships are poignant. The compassionate, three-dimensional performances, combined with Simon's nuanced writing and authentic rendering of 1940s speech, make the listener fully believe in these realistic, complex characters. Standout performers include Roxanne Hart as the boys' kindhearted but nervous Aunt Bella and Barbara Bain as Grandma Kurnitz, whose tough, coldhearted exterior is a reaction to a lifetime of devastating pain and loss. Also excellent are Ben Diskin and Kenneth Schmidt as the young boys. At first lonely and miserable, fearing and hating their stern grandmother, they gradually come to respect and understand her.

[Jojo · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I'm pretty sure I read this back in like 7th grade but that was longer ago than I'd care to admit. lol Anyway moving on to the summary: it's 1942, WWII is in the midst. Jay and Arty have recently lost their mother and their father is in debt after paying her hospital bills so he sends the boys to live with their grandmother while he goes out to make money. The grandmother is a strict German immigrant. There's also their aunt Bella who seems to have a learning disability but she's still very sweet. She's recently met a man whom she wants to marry but is afraid to tell her mother. There's also Uncle Louie who is a gangster. The boys start to sort of work for him (mainly just answering phones to tell them they don't know who he is). The boys think of stealing money to help their father. Jay, the older brother, also wants to run off with Louie to make money but Louie says no.
There's a family meeting where Bella admits to wanting to marry a man and have children of her own. It ends up not working out but she seems to finally be able to be somewhat independent.
In the end, their father returns and the boys are reunited with their father and plan on seeing their grandmother more often.
So yeah, I enjoyed it. I'll give it a B+.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading the play “LOST IN YONKERS” by NEIL SIMON. I read this book while listening to the audible version narrated by BARBARA BAIN, DAN CASTELLANETA and FULL CAST. This play is about two young boys who are forced to live for a year with their domineering, ill-tempered grandmother while their father takes a job in another state is beautifully realized by the L.A. Theatre Works cast. Like most of Simon's works, this one features an eccentric cast of characters. Listeners meet Aunt Gert (played by Gia Carides), whose voice frequently switches into a wheeze midsentence, and Uncle Louie (played by Dan Castellaneta), a Bogart-like gangster. This production realizes Simon's trademark mix of comedy and drama: the one-liners are hilarious, but the characters' sad, dysfunctional relationships are poignant. The compassionate, three-dimensional performances, combined with Simon's nuanced writing and authentic rendering of 1940s speech, make the listener fully believe in these realistic, complex characters. Standout performers include Roxanne Hart as the boys' kindhearted but nervous Aunt Bella and Barbara Bain as Grandma Kurnitz, whose tough, coldhearted exterior is a reaction to a lifetime of devastating pain and loss. Also excellent are Ben Diskin and Kenneth Schmidt as the young boys. At first lonely and miserable, fearing and hating their stern grandmother, they gradually come to respect and understand her.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play won the Pulitzer for Drama in 1991, as well as a Tony for Best Play (among other categories). I listened to the full cast audio recording and found this to be a hilarious play with themes of family.

The main characters, young brothers Jacob and Arthur, are left with their paternal grandmother after the death of their mother. Their father found himself owing a significant sum to a loan shark, so he leaves New York to earn enough to be able to repay his loan. Among the other characters are the boys' Aunt Bella, who has an intellectual disability, and Uncle Louie, who is himself entangled with loan sharks and/or the mob. I enjoyed the family and watching the boys come to understand their roots, as well as the conflicts between their Grandmother and Aunt Bella. The humor was a great addition as well. I'll be checking out the movie version of this in the future!

[C.W. Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do we raise our children? What will become of them when we teach them the lessons we've learned? Does teaching them stoicism and strength do them more harm than good?

Neil Simon poses these questions and answers them beautifully with both hilarious and heartbreaking dialogue in this (rightfully so in my opinion) Pulitzer Prize winning play.

The beauty in Simon's writing is that he doesn't condemn or praise any of his characters. He simply presents them as they are and lets the audience make their own decisions. He shows affection and fondness to his two child leads without excusing their immaturity and offers that same olive branch to the adults, but not forgetting their behavior.

If you enjoy prose that will both mend and break your heart, definitely read Lost in Yonkers.

[Kooraya · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Neil Simon can put into 120 pages of almost entirely dialogue is exemplary. He’s an expert. Everything took place in one room, involving one extended family, and yet I feel there was a full sphere of background, self-expression, character exposition and world-building, all executed with amazing authorial finesse. Each character is drawn with a fine-point pencil, all the pertinent details are provided. There is no wish from the reader for anything more to be uncovered. A satisfying, timeless read telling a significant story of life in our complex world. Heartache, laughter, sorrow, joy. A brilliant, entirely and universally relatable slice in the life of one family of a certain era.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Neil Simon when I first read him in high school, but rereading him as an adult – and having read hundreds of plays in the interim – I’m less impressed. His works consistently feel dated and vaguely autobiographical, the same general character types and tics set in different situations.

Lost in Yonkers is about two teenage boys who go to live with the grandmother and aunt when their father takes a job as a traveling salesmen. There are some funny lines, but otherwise it’s the typical dysfunctional family dynamic that pervades twentieth-century theatre. The big moment, when it arrives, feels manufactured rather than authentic. Not recommended.

[John Geddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting one. I hadn’t heard much about it, but I do like me some Neil Simon.

It’s not as tightly constructed as a lot of his pieces and maybe not as overtly funny (more people are weird funny rather than punchline jokes or banter). Instead you have a play that feels a lot more real and raw than I’ve read from him. The characters are fun, but also tragic and there is some genuine pathos in the piece. My only real concern is that the characters problems do seem a bit simplistic and easily sourced, almost like a therapist had wrapped up a family.

Even so, this would likely be a strong show to go see or produce.

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gosh this was so good. I don't typically read plays, and I don't really know what possessed me to pick this up, but I have been a fan of the movie adaptation for years. However, this play was so easy to read, and FUNNY. I laughed out loud so many times. There are so many dry one-liners that bring an otherwise slightly bleak study of human neuroses to life. I also quite like that the arc of a character that isn't necessarily the main character is refreshing, especially since the "antagonist" was never redeemed. This made me feel so good in so many ways. It was well-written, comforting, and humorous. As much of a fan of the movie I am, the original play was a far better experience.