John Collins in Yonkers (photo credit: Mike Heffernan)
Simon-izing
A Pulitzer-prize winner arrives in the Capital
by Jim Murchison
There is no arguing that Neil Simon is one of America’s most successful playwrights. Some underestimate his craftsmanship and consider him too formulaic. His one-liners are so perfectly set up that one sometimes underestimates the power of his storytelling. Lost in Yonkers is a Tony Award winner and a Pulitzer Prize play because its themes of family dysfunction and its characters' world-weary struggle to overcome life’s adversity resonate in the minds and hearts of everyone in the audience.
The Ottawa Little Theatre is Canada’s oldest community theatre company because it is not afraid to make choices that challenge its actors and its audiences. Neil Simon’s characters are not always easy to capture, even though laughs are a guaranteed by-product if your timing is good. I overheard the Coat Check person telling a patron that last night’s opening met with a standing ovation so I anticipated a good night.
