Lost In Yonkers

Auditions: August 4, 2013 @ Limelight Theatre, Wanneroo

Lost in Yonkers by Neil Simon

Awards: 1991 Drama Desk Award for Best New Play, 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, 1991 Tony Award for Best Play

CHARACTERS:

Jay: He is 15 years old, nearly 16. He is an independent, self-serving jokester, who sometimes gets carried away with the situations going on around him. The play tells his coming-of-age story.

Arty: Jay’s younger brother, he is 13½ 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.

Bella: Jay’s 35-year-old aunt. She is sometimes a bit off-centre 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.

Louie: 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. Originally played on Broadway by Kevin Spacey.

Grandma Kurnitz: Jay’s grandmother. A very old and stern German Jew. She walks with a cane and drags one foot.  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.

Eddie: 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.

Gert: 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.

The play is set in 1942, in ‘Yonkers’ New York. It is important anyone auditioning can attempt the accent.

If you check out ‘The Nanny’ on YouTube, this will help… or there is a girl performing the accent on YouTube. It is a very strong, nasal accent. The Grandmother needs to have a German accent and she needs to sound daunting. It is important, too, that anyone attempting to audition for ‘Gert’ can speak half a sentence normally then suck in during her second half of her sentence. This is her speech impediment and a fundamental part of her character.

Please be aware that I am not too concerned about the characters ages being exact.  The boys need to look approximately the right age.  The Grandmother needs to obviously look older than her children but Louie, Bella, Eddie and Gert do not have to be in their 30s – they can be in their 40s as long as they look right for the part.

Please contact director Alida Chaney by email for an audition time and more information at alida.chaney60@gmail.com or you can send her an sms: 0403367047

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