Brian Yorkey To Direct Village Theater's LOST IN YONKERS

For the first time, Village Theatres will produce Neil Simon's LOST IN YONKERS for the Mainstage, set to open in downtown Issaquah on January 21, 2010. This production marks the first professionally produced version of this story to be seen in the greater Seattle area in over a decade.

Boasting an array of unique and exciting qualities, this highly anticipated production features direction by 2009 Tony Award-winner Brian Yorkey (Next To Normal, workshopped through the Village Originals program, and currently on stage at Booth Theatre in New York). Yorkey has previously been awarded several Seattle Times Footlight Awards for his directoral work at Village Theatre on such productions as The Who's TOMMY (2007) and The Importance of Being Earnest (2009). Several other notable Theatre credits with ties to Village Theatre include Making Tracks, which has played Off-Broadway and regionally; the musical adaptation of Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet; and the new country musical Play It By Heart. Making a mark now in the film and TV industries, Yorkey has had a hand in such features as Time After Time, in development at Universal with Marc Platt, and Sluts for Lionsgate and Furst Films. He has directed Off-Broadway and regionally, and for seven years was associate artistic director at Village Theatre.

Yorkey's vision for this production is to create a feeling of being within a memory. "Like so many of Neil Simon's plays, YONKERS is drawn from events in his own life. We wanted to honor that spirit and give the play the feeling of being a childhood memory," Yorkey commented. With such a distinctive vision in mind, Yorkey assembled a creative team comprised of many artisans that he worked with last year on The Seattle Times Footlight Award winning production The Importance of Being Earnest. The unofficial scenic and lighting design team of Bill Forrester and Tom Sturge (5th Avenue's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor© Dreamcoat) unite again for LOST IN YONKERS. This team created magic in last season's ...Earnest and the previous season's heartwarming new musical Little Women was breathtaking as seasons changed from one to the next. The 1940s world of Neil Simon's LOST IN YONKERS boasts a city lined backdrop with beautifully designed furniture and a layout that will truly transport audiences to another time and place.

The winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Play, and the Pulitzer Prize, Lost in Yonkers is a remarkable coming of age story. Two Young Brothers are forced to enter a dysfunctional household consisting of their formidable grandmother, their dim-witted aunt, and their Uncle Louie, a small-time thug. As comical as it is poignant, this Neil Simon masterwork is an examination of lives in an oppressive household, with a dramatic climax that is certain to leave you spellbound.

Based in Issaquah, WA, with operations in Everett, Village Theatre is a leading producer of musical theatre in the Pacific Northwest. Producing entertaining quality productions for the entire family since 1979, Village Theatre has grown into one of the region's best-attended Equity theatres, with over 18,000 Subscribers and 170,000 projected total attendance each season. Through its Village Originals program, Village Theatre is nationally recognized for its contribution to the development of new musicals, having launched over 80 new works to date. Village Theatre also takes pride in nurturing tomorrow's audiences through its youth education programs, Pied Piper and KIDSTAGE, serving over 54,000 young people, families, and schools annually.

Village Theatre season sponsors are Continental Airlines, Microsoft, and Lombardi's

Village Theatre is also funded in part by 4Culture, ArtsFund, ArtsUnited, Axonus, City of Everett, City of Issaquah /Issaquah Arts Commission, Continental Airlines, Encore Arts Program, The Herald, Issaquah/Sammamish Reporter, KING5.com, Larkspur Landing, Lombardi's Neighborhood Italian, Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, Microsoft, National Endowment for the Arts, Overlake Hospital and Medical Center, Port Blakely Communities/Issaquah Highlands, Rowley Properties, and Washington State Arts Commission. Village Theatre is a member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre and Theatre Puget

Photo credit: Peter James Zielinski