Lost in Yonkers opens Second Stage season at
The Round Barn Theatre

By Jeri Seely
Editor
The Paper

There are many signs that spring is on its way. One of those signs is the opening of Amish Acres’ 2008 theatre season. Neil Simon’s award-winning “Lost In Yonkers,” set in 1942, opened March 1 on the Locke Township Meeting Hall stage. It’s a Second Stage Production that runs Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through the month of March.

There are plenty of laughs in this sometimes funny, sometimes sad production. There is also much to relate to as two teenage boys try to adjust to spending 10 months in their grandmother’s Yonkers apartment, while Grandma and an aunt are continually at odds.

The teens — Jay (Lance Mullins), 17 1/2, and Arty (Ty Stutsman), 15 1/2 — have recently lost their mother to cancer. Their father, Eddie (Scott Saegesser), needs to take to the road in order to earn enough to pay off the money he borrowed from loan sharks. The only place he has to leave his two sons is with Grandma Kurnitz (Rita Kurtz) and Aunt Bella (Anita Reimer).

Grandma was born in Germany where beatings were the rule. Anger has always been a part of her life. When she was 12 she went to a rally in Berlin with her father. When the police arrived her father was killed and a horse fell on her foot, crushing it. Grandma says, “No,” to the boys staying. However, Bella has other ideas. She says if the boys are not allowed to stay she will move out. Grandma relents.

Bella is a slow individual who often becomes confused. She thinks the boys are her cousins and later her brothers. She enjoys going to the theatre where she meets an usher named Johnny. The two date and he asks her to marry him. He plans to leave the theatre and if they can get $5,000 they will open a restaurant. She even has a name: La Bella Johnny. She shares this information with the boys and tells them her mother will give her the money since she has it stashed away.

The boys then wonder how they can get their hands on the money to help their father. Their search is in vain. No money is found.

Enter Louie (Sam Brown), Grandma’s other son. He’s a small-time hoodlum who arrives at the apartment to hide out for a few days.

Gert (Pam Gunterman) arrives for a visit and family meeting. She suffers from breathing problems that only set in when she visits her mother.

When all are gathered Bella reveals her plans to marry. Her mother says, “No,” so she runs off and isn’t seen for three days. Gert reveals to the boys that Bella is at her house sorting out her feelings. When she returns she says that she now has the $5,000 needed to start the restaurant but Johnny, who is slow in thought, has changed his mind. He likes his ushering job. He doesn’t want to leave his loving parents and he now doesn’t want to get married. Her mother thinks Bella took the money from her stash. Not true. Louie gave it to her before he left to join the Army.

In the end, all is well except for Grandma who refuses to give in. Eddie has made the money he needs to pay off his bills and has come to collect his sons. Bella is going out to meet a friend, a girl, who just happens to have a brother whom Bella likes.

Kurtz is outstanding as the hard-hearted grandmother who refuses to bend or show any type of feelings. Her speech and walk were convincing.

Reimer, a director and theatre arts professor at Bethel college, is making her Round Barn debut in this production. She turns in a flawless performance.

Mullins and Stutsman turn in super performances as the teens. Mullins is a recent graduate of NorthWood High School. Stutsman is a senior at NorthWood.

Saegesser, A Round Barn veteran and the show’s costume designer, is great. While not on the stage often, his voice is heard through the letters he sends to keep in touch with his sons.

Brown, also a veteran of the Round Barn stage, makes a very convincing hoodlum.

And, Gunterman is super as the second daughter, returning to the Yonkers apartment only long enough for occasional visits. Her breathing problem is done to perfection.

Executive producer Richard Pletcher and director Jeremy Littlejohn have put together another winner. Go see it, you won’t be disappointed. For reservations call (800) 800-4942 or online at amishacres.com.

To make the day even more special enjoy the award-winning Threshers Dinner while you there. The meal starts with ham and bean soup, hearth bread and applesauce, relish, sweet and sour cabbage salad, green beans, beef and noodles, mashed potatoes, sage dressing, giblet gravy and the choice of two meats — chicken, turkey, roast beef or ham. The meal is completed with the choice of delicious dessert. It the perfect way to start or end an outing.