Muncie Civic Theatre presents Lost in Yonkers

MUNCIE CIVIC THEATRE will kick off its 2006-2007 Season with Neil Simon's LOST IN YONKERS. The play will perform on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, September 15, 16, 21, 22 & 23 at 7:30pm as well as on Sunday, September 17 at 2:00pm. The performances will be on the main stage at Muncie Civic Theatre, 216 East Main Street, Muncie, Indiana. Tickets are $15 for Adults if purchased in advance, $18 for Adults at the door, $6 for Ball State students and $5 for High School & Younger. Group rates are available. This production is rated PG. Reservations and ticket sales are available by calling 765-288-PLAY or at www.munciecivic.org. Box Office hours are Tuesday through Friday from 3:00pm to 6:00pm and one hour prior to each performance.

LOST IN YONKERS, winner of the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play, is a memory play set in Yonkers, New York in 1942. Eddie Kurnitz deposits his two young sons on his mother's doorstep so he can go on an extended sales trip. The boys must contend with Grandma, a stern old lady; with her daughter who is mentally retarded and having a secret romance, and a son who may have mob connections. Gradually, the mood deepens as the boys endure life with a family of emotionally crippled people. While the children are temporarily exiled in Yonkers, the rest of their sad, funny family is truly lost. The New York Post calls LOST IN YONKERS "The best play Simon ever wrote," while Newsweek said "Laughter and tears have come together in a new emotional truth. There are moments in this play when you experience a new kind of laughter that implodes straight into your heart."

Under the Direction of Civic Education Director Marty Grubbs, the production features performances by MCT Young Actors Workshop students Cody Freeman and Thomas Brown as Jay and Artie, the two young boys, and Wanita Spence as their strict German grandmother. Kerry Anne Pritchard plays their mildly handicapped Aunt Bella, Taylor University instructor Matthew Tailford is Unlce Louie, Stephanie Fisher is Aunt Gert and Kevin Pompey plays their father, Eddie.

Discounted season tickets for the entire 2006-2007 line-up will be available at performances of LOST IN YONKERS. Other shows on the schedule include Andrew Lloyd Weber's immortal musical CATS, the family comedy OVER THE RIVER & THROUGH THE WOODS, Ken Ludwig's hilarious farce MOON OVER BUFFALO, literary classic THE GRAPES OF WRATH, family fun with SEUSSICAL: THE MUSICAL and Rodgers' & Hammerstein's beloved STATE FAIR.

For tickets and information call 765-288-PLAY.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: August 22, 2006 KILL DATE: September 24, 2006
CONTACT: Darrin Murrell, (765) 288-7529 x3

###