Lost in Yonkers
by Playhouse 2000
Feb. 02 - Feb. 03
Two boys, Jay and Arty, find themselves living with their stern, unlikable grandmother and fragile Aunt Bella when their father must go on the road to earn money to pay the hospital that couldn’t save their mother’s life. Over the course of a summer, we also meet the boys’ other relatives, come to know their remarkable family story, and watch Jay come into his own as a young man.
Lost in Yonkers, winner of both the Tony Award for “Best Play” and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1991, is a coming of age story, and a remarkable study of one family beating the odds of poverty, 2nd-class status, and the deprivations of war to achieve a sense of normalcy. It considered by critics to be among Simon’s best plays – if not the best.
Auditions for Lost in Yonkers, February 2, 2025 at 2:30 pm and February 3, 2025 at 6:30 pm
Performances scheduled March 21 - April 6, Fridays - Sundays (no performance on Sunday, March 23)
Everyone is invited to audition, but we do our best to work very professionally. A full rehearsal schedule is typically available after auditions. Auditioners for each show are expected to attend only one audition session unless specially informed about call-backs.
In most cases, no advance preparation is necessary, and you only need to attend one of the two audition days.
Advance copies of most scripts can be checked out for two days (seriously, two!) at P2K’s VK Garage Theater office, 305 Washington Street.
All auditions are held in the Werlein Annex Studio unless otherwise indicated. You are only required to come to one audition session but are always welcome to attend both. Scripts will be available in the P2K Office at least a month before auditions.
Available Roles:
Jay (Male – plays 15 “and a half”) forced to be more mature than he is ready to be by his mother’s death and the need for his father to leave him in order to make a living. The play tells his coming-of-age story.
Arty (plays male, plays 13 “and a half”) Jay’s younger brother. 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 (Female, plays late 30’s to early 40’s) Jay’s aunt, She is somewhat mentally challenged and sometimes a bit off-center, but despite this she is also loving and protective of her nephews. She longs for independence from her stern mother.
Louie (Male, plays later 30’s) Jay’s flamboyant, jovial uncle, who comes to live with the family when he is hiding from the local mob, for which he works as a “bag-man”. Despite his sketchy life-style, he is considered by Grandma Kurnitz to be the “survivor” of the family. He has a demanding and volatile nature and an underlying dark side.
Grandma Kurnitz (Female – plays 70’s+) Jay’s grandmother. A very old and stern woman, a Jewish immigrant (refugee?) from Germany. 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 (male, plays late 30’s to early 40’s) Jay and Arty’s 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. Most of Eddie’s lines can be pre-recorded.
Gert (Female – plays late 30’s to early 40’s) 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 Mother from a young age. Gert provides some of the show’s comic relief without being an object of ridicule.
