There’s no shortage of memorable dysfunctional families in American theater, including the Kurnitz clan from Neil Simon’s 1991 Pulitzer Prize-winning dramedy “Lost in Yonkers.”
The group is especially appealing in Center Repertory Company’s production onstage in Walnut Creek through April 19.
In program notes, director Nancy Carlin writes, “I love this play with all my heart and funny bone” and it shows. She has helmed an all-around stellar cast of actors who vividly bring their complex characters to life.
Meanwhile, Center Rep Artistic Director Matt M. Morrow, also in notes, says he programmed the 35-year-old play for Lesher Center for the Arts’ 35th anniversary and because its World War II-set story about a family in debt due to medical expenses remains relevant today.
To pay off a loan he took for his late wife’s cancer treatment, Eddie, the dad, takes a sales job that requires him to be on the road. Hesitant but with no other viable options, he brings his sons to Jay and Arty to stay with their aunt Bella and Grandma, who have wildly different opinions about their presence.
Tough, grumpy Grandma is not pleased. In the role, Ellen Ratner convincingly reveals what gives the mean, gritty lady her strength. However, lively Bella, who admittedly has mental challenges, is thrilled to have her nephews in her home. Renee Rogoff is simply superb as the show’s sweetest, most soulful character who mostly sees the bright side of life yet faces her challenges with intensity.
Adam Magill shows just the right amount of fear and ambivalence as Eddie, who grew up in his mother’s rigid household but left in time to raise two on-top-of-things boys. Tristan A. Rodriguez as 15 ½- year-old Jay and Ray Khalili as the 13 ½-year-old Arty portray the funny, articulate, honest teens with gusto.
Rounding out the cast are Eddie and Bella’s siblings: Vinny Randazzo as the animated Louie makes his character’s mob connections believable, and Sarah Mitchell, in the second act, is truly a riot as Gert, who literally sucks air when she speaks. Her second-act appearance is welcomed with lots of laughs, as the audience already has witnessed it displayed by family members who imitate her whenever they mention her.
The simple set, the family’s living room complete with doilies on the couch and a 1940s cathedral radio, captures the era, and projections on backdrops at both sides of the stage bring to life the letters Eddie writes home.
Though the prolific Simon may be out of style — he wrote dozens of popular plays that haven’t been routinely staged locally recently — the old-fashioned “Lost in Yonkers” is welcome in 2026. It’s a period piece with timeless themes recounting the pressure, passion and power of family life.
Center Repertory Company’s “Lost in Yonkers” continues through April 19 at Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. Tickets are $31-$101 at centerrep.org.
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