'Lost in Yonkers' shows that drama can be found in comedy

WASILLA -- Those looking to lose themselves in a little lighthearted comedy blended with introspection can do no better than to head down to the Machetanz theatre for VPA's latest offering, Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers."

The play, set during the second World War, centers around a harried, vaguely jingoistic salesman (Kevin Cochran) from New York City who is forced to temporarily abandon his sons (Ben Fauske and Mark Hermon) as he hacks out a living selling scrap metal to the Army.

The only solution is to leave the boys with their cantankerous Grandma Kurnitz (Patty Taylor) and dimwitted Aunt Bella (Tami Shelton), who run a candy store in the outskirts of Yonkers. The uncomfortable situation is complicated by the arrival of Uncle Louie (Rod Mehrtens), an unkempt gangster with a widow's peak who waves a pistol to punctuate conversations with his nephews. Together, the motley family unit grapples with the age-old problems of strained filial relationships and pretzel theft.

Like all good comedies, however, Lost in Yonkers is not without its moments of pathos. Bella's desperate struggles to escape her mother's suffocating presence are balanced against Grandma Kurnitz's own paralyzing loneliness and hostility. The boys' desire to help provide for their family finds a parallel in their father's continuous self-sacrifice.

Simon's script, rather than merely playing off of the comic interactions between the family members (although it does indeed do this with impunity), delves into the problems underlying these interactions and gives them voice.

Patty Taylor stands out as Grandma Kurnitz, the shambling old battleaxe whose eyes dart around like frightened goldfish when her grandchildren courteously kiss her on the cheek, an act that the boys surreptitiously compare to "kissing a wrinkled ice cube."

Able to inspire dread simply by thumping her cane (a prop that serves as an oaken implement of terror to both her grandchildren and children alike) on the floor, she delivers the most memorable performance of the production.

Tami Shelton also deserves commendation for her role as the manic, childish Aunt Bella. Shelton's Bella is a high-strung, shrill piece of work who spends a large part of the first act sitting motionless, with her features frozen into a sort of sarcophagal dementia. "Bella, the Lost and Found called, come and get your brains!" she warbles to herself, then suddenly sobers and says: "I don't find that funny."

Her thick accent, pilfered from somewhere deep in the unfashionable backwaters of Jersey, speaks more about her interpretation of the character than the most fervent emoting ever could.

The two boys, played by Fauske and Hermon, perform their parts adroitly, exhibiting a marvelous range of facial expressions and looking genuinely uncomfortable in their ill-fitting woolen jackets and argyle socks.

Cochran's character is less appealing, doing little to break the clich/ of the rundown, overworked paternal provider.

All in all, our latest local theatre production shows that, while many things may be lost over the course of this play, VPA's keen sense of the comedic is not.

Performances of "Lost in Yonkers" are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays through March 7.

Tickets are available through Carrs Tix, Tickets.com or from the VPA box office at 373-0195.