Auditions for “Lost in Yonkers”

Auditions for Lost in Yonkers by Neil Simon will be held at the Village Players of Hatboro on

• Sunday, December 17th at 3pm
• Tuesday, December 19th at 7:30pm

All roles are open to audition. We are seeking a cast of two men, three women and two boys (age range 13-16) for this production. Auditioners are asked to prepare a short monologue (one to two minutes in length) of their choosing that fits with the style of the production. Auditioners will also be asked to do cold readings from the script.

Show dates are March (2018) 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24. All actors who are cast must be available for all show dates, as well as tech week (Sunday, March 4th through Wednesday, March 7th) and benefit shows on weeknights throughout the run (dates TBD).

SYNOPSIS

This memory play, By Neil Simon, is set in Yonkers in 1942. Bella is thirty-five years old, mentally challenged, and living at home with her mother, stern Grandma Kurnitz. As the play opens, ne’er-do-well son Eddie deposits his two young sons on the old lady’s doorstep. He is financially strapped and taking to the road as a salesman. The boys are left to contend with Grandma, with Bella and her secret romance, and with Louie, her brother, a small-time hoodlum in a strange new world called Yonkers.

CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS

• Jay (M) – about 15, independent, jokester type who sometimes gets carried away with the situations going on around him; the play tells his coming-of-age story.
• Arty (M) – Jay’s younger brother, he is 13 years old. More of an observer than the rest of his family, he often goes with the flow of things, but also can be a little childish.
• Eddie (M) – Jay’s middle-aged father. After the death of his wife, he is forced to send his two sons to live with their grandmother, while he repays his large financial debts. He is shown to be, much like his sisters, a nervous wreck around Grandma.
• Bella (F) – Jay’s thirty-five-year-old aunt. She is sometimes a bit off-center and is mentally challenged, but despite this she is also loving and protective of her nephews. Much of the second half of the play focuses on her attempts at independence from her stern mother.
• Grandma Kurnitz (F) – Eddie and Bella’s mother, a big woman, buxom, with a strong and erect body, 70 odd years of age. Jay’s grandmother. A very old and stern woman. Owing to her harsh childhood, she has always been very intolerant of what in others she calls “weaknesses”. She is blunt, sometimes even in a funny way, and always knows what is going on with the people around her.
• Louie (M) – Jay’s flamboyant, jovial uncle, in his late 30s, who comes to live with the family when he is hiding from the local mob. He is considered by Grandma Kurnitz to be the “survivor” of the family. He has a strong, mercurial nature, and a certain underlying dark side, which the kids uncover in the second act of the play. He works as a “bag-man” for the mob.
• Aunt Gert (F) – Jay’s aunt, and Grandma’s daughter. She is a very interesting addition to the family. Her most noticeable issue is that when she breathes she has a tendency to suck in while still speaking, as a result of trauma instilled in her by Grandma from a young age.

CREW MEMBERS & NEWBIES

Audition nights are a perfect time to come out, meet the director, and express your interest in helping out backstage, be it in the role of a stage manager, lights & sound operator, concessions, or whatever else you might like to do.

They’re also GREAT for first-timers to come out and observe how things are done, maybe express interest in being a helper, or read for a part! We almost always cast at least one person who’s never been on stage before. You never know what can happen!

Questions? Please contact Director Keith Maliszewski at kmaliszewski88@gmail.com.