LOST IN YONKERS
Written by Neil Simon
Directed by Bernice Garfield-Szita PLAY DATES: JULY 28TH THROUGH AUGUST 27TH, 2006
SYNOPSIS: This play was first published in 1991 and won the author the Pulitzer Prize. Set in Yonkers in 1942 during World War II, this powerful comedy/drama deals with universal themes of survival, the importance of one’s family, and acceptance. Our extraordinarily talented ensemble cast brings this theatrical gem to life in our intimate theater space.
Produced in cooperation with Samuel French, Inc.
MEET THE CAST
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Anthony Greco as "Jay Kurnitz"
Anthony is glad to be making this unexpected debut with Center Players! However, he is no stranger to theater, he has been seen throughout Monmouth and Middlesex Counties in such shows as: You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown (Charlie Brown), Arsenic & Old Lace (Teddy & Jonathan Brewser), Annie (Rooster & Daddy Warbucks - 2X), Guys & Dolls (Nathan Detroit), Footloose (Rev. Shaw Moore), Promises, Promises (Chuck Baxter), How to Succeed... (Bud Frump), The Scarlet Pimpernel (Hal), Oklahoma! (Curly), Jekyll & Hyde (Sir Archibald Proops), Oliver! (The Artful Dodger), and Brighton Beach Memoirs (Eugene) for which he earned the 2006 Count Basie Theatre Award for Best Lead Actor in a Play. His next performance will be in Once upon a Mattress this September with GB Productions in Old Bridge where he will be playing the Jester. Anthony would like to thank Stevie and Ben for getting him involved in all this, Bernice and the cast for welcoming him into the production very fast, his brother Michael for running lines with him all hours of the day, and all his love to Vicki who let him become MIA for 5 weekends to do this part. |
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Ben Shutman as "Arty"
Ben is very excited to be in his first Center Players show. Previously, he has been seen at the Eatontown Playhouse. His shows have included Kids Cabaret , Who's Afraid of The Big Bad Wolf, Cinderella, Promises, Promises , and Watch on The Rhine for which he received a Perry Nomination for Best Youth Actor. He also enjoys hanging out with friends and playing basketball. He runs track and loves to see Broadway Shows. Ben will be entering the eighth grade at Ocean Township Intermediate School.
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Thomas R. DeCaro as "Eddie Kurnitz"
Tom makes his stage debut as Eddie in Center Players’ production of Lost in Yonkers. A resident of Sayreville, he is a father of one son, Scott, and one daughter, Tara. He first became involved with Center Players earlier this year when Tara was cast in Hamlet. He worked on the tech crew for both Hamlet, which was staged in March, and Men Are Dogs, which followed on the Center Players’ stage in May and June. Tom is a former journalist and adjunct professor of English, and he currently works as an office manager. He would like to thank his family and his extended family at Center Players for their support.
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Bernadette Gill as "Bella"
Bernadette has been on stage with Center Players as Rose in Avow, as Ethel Banks (Mom) in Barefoot in the Park, and as Truvy in Steel Magnolias. Bernadette also worked on Real Women Have Curves as Stage Manager - THE HARDEST JOB IN THE SHOWBIZ AND THIS SHOW HAS THE BEST ONE EVER! The Stage Crew ain't chopped liver neither! Bernadette is studying acting at the Actors Training Institute in Eatontown, NJ. Bernadette lives in Jackson, has a grown son, Fred, a dog and two cats and works at NJ Transit where she is the Director of Property Management. Bernadette is grateful and happy to be playing a role she loves, at a "thee-ada" she loves, with a director and cast she loves. Love says it all and all you need is love. Here's a big hug for you! |
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Mary Johnson as "Grandma Kurnitz"
Mary is delighted to be making her debut with Center Players in this wonderful play. Since returning to community theater after a long hiatus, she has appeared in numerous productions on local stages including The Diary of Anne Frank (Edith Frank), The Crucible (Rebecca Nurse), Strindberg's The Father (Laura), Barefoot in the Park (Ethel Banks), The Importance of Being Earnest (Miss Prism), The Man Who Came to Dinner (Miss Preen), Our Town (Mrs. Gibbs), Arsenic and Old Lace (Aunt Martha), Rumors (Cookie), and The Children's Hour (Mrs. Tilford). She also performs with the Jersey Shore Storytellers.
She is grateful to Bernice for her insightful direction and for this opportunity to work with a company of talented and dedicated people who become family onstage and off. She dedicates this performance to her Grandma Louisa, an indomitable lady who bore thirteen children and lost seven of them, who raised five daughters and a son alone after her beloved husband died, who found the courage always to keep her love alive, and on whose birthday Mary was born.
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Christopher Chandonnet as "Louie"
Lost in Yonkers is Christopher's fourth production with Center Players. In 2005, he played the conflicted "Father Raymond" in Avow. Earlier, he portrayed the cowardly, violent "Mr. Klemper" in The Boys Next Door (2004) and in late-2004 participated in New Jersey's only staging of Dear George: Letters to the President - a unique reading of open letters to President Bush during the heat of the election campaign. Previous acting credits, as a member of the Arena Players Repertory Theatre (Long Island's oldest resident professional theatre), include Art ; Bell, Book, and Candle; And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little; and The Zoo Story . Christopher is an executive speechwriter and corporate communications director for a leading professional services firm in New York City. He has a wife and six children (yes, six - hence the real day job) from whom he receives many gifts - including courage, patience, creativity, and love of life. This performance is dedicated to them. |
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Colleen DeFelice as "Aunt Gert"
This is Colleen's first appearance with Center Players. Originally from Pennsylvania, she has been a Freehold/Colts Neck resident for the past 38 years. After 8 years as a Flight Attendant with Eastern Airlines, she spent the next 20 years raising two sons, attending Brookdale, and, among other jobs, was a news broadcaster for WJLK in Asbury Park. It was here she first began work in commercials, voiceover, and industrial films. In 1991 she resumed her flying career with United Airlines and continued her acting as in-house-talent for United's training films. Retiring in 2003, she is now pursuing her acting in local theater. She wishes to thank Bernice for this opportunity and the great cast for sharing their stage experience with her. She would also like to thank her family and friends for their support and encouragement, her sons being her biggest "fans" in everything. |
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Bernice Garfield-Szita - Director
Bernice is delighted to have the opportunity to direct Lost in Yonkers with such a marvelous cast and crew. She has been with Center Players Since 1995 and was a member of the original board that opened the doors to Center Playhouse in 2001. She brings over 40 years experience in theater and the arts to her work with Center Players. She co-directed Crossing Delancey, directed the Immigrant, Steel Magnolias, and Real Women Have Curves. She also played “The Director” in Play On. As current President of Center Players, she loves the opportunity to help bring high quality live theater to the community and to be a part of one of the finest theater families in Monmouth County! In her “day job”, Bernice co-directs Contemporary Counseling Center and ActionArtz Training Institute with her husband Bob, who is producing Lost in Yonkers. She is very grateful she has Bob as her personal and professional partner. He will always be a star in her cast! |
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Funding has been made possible, in part, by the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, through the county Historical Commission and the NJ State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment of the Arts.
