Ordinarily, Harrison Keating would have been in bed already.
Brenden Darnell would have been at least contemplating it.
But nothing in recent weeks has been ordinary for the two Oak Harbor youths, nor will it continue to be during the next month.
Keating, 12, and Darnell, 15, are playing the central characters in the Neil Simon play “Lost in Yonkers,” which opens April 1 at the Whidbey Playhouse.
It’s heavy stuff for two young actors playing dramatic roles, intermixed with plenty of comedy, in their first big parts on the Whidbey Playhouse stage. The play revolves around the boys who play brothers who reluctantly move in with their estranged, strict grandmother and mentally challenged aunt in Yonkers, N.Y., after their mother dies and father must travel for work.
The boys end up staying for 10 months and grow up a lot during the process.
It’s a fitting development since the actors made similar progress onstage after landing the roles during auditions.
“We often see kids in our Playhouse shows who are in comedies or musicals, but it’s a rare thing when two boys get to do a drama,” said Gaye Litka, the play’s director. “One of the challenges I thought I was going to have with our two young actors was finding two guys who could interpret the sarcasm of the show.”
No problem there.
Keating and Darnell, who play Arty and Jay, soaked up direction and tips from experienced actors around them like sponges, according to Jim Otruba, who plays their “Uncle Louie,” a shady character who hides out at grandma’s place for a while to stay out of sight from the mob.
“They know my lines better than I do,” Otruba said.
It is during the boys’ interaction with their uncle that much of play’s mature content and sarcasm plays out.
And it didn’t take long for Darnell’s lines to draw hearty laughter from a sizable group of teenagers who attended the play’s first full dress rehearsal before a live audience Thursday night at the Playhouse.
Several students came to support Darnell from HomeConnection, the Oak Harbor Public Schools’ home-school program in which he is enrolled as a freshman.
Some of the students had read “Lost in Yonkers” in class and were eager to see the Pulitzer Prize-winning play acted out onstage by one of their own.
“It’s really funny,” said Erik Newman, an eighth grader.
“I’m glad that he’s opening up to play his part,” seventh-grader Grace Oman said.
Both Darnell and Keating acknowledged the experience was much different with an audience on hand.
“I wasn’t prepared for all of the laughs,” Darnell said.
“It was so much better than doing it to a wall,” Keating said.
Keating and Darnell each have played a small role in past Playhouse shows and also have acted in Would-Be Players youth productions.
Keating, a sixth grader at Oak Harbor Middle School, also is quite musically inclined and is a member of his family’s band, the Dandelion Family String Band, which has performed at festivals throughout Whidbey Island.
“I think that’s where he’s developed a taste for being up onstage,” said his father Peter Keating.
“He’s adorable,” said Cori Siggens, who plays the brothers’ grandmother. “They both are. They’re just terrific kids to work with.”
Siggens, who last appeared onstage in “Enchanted April,” said playing such a rigid heartless grandmother was a challenge because it’s so out of character for her. She has grandchildren of her own and even a great-grandchild.
Siggens was intrigued by the role because she wanted to work with Litka and Sue Riney, the close-knit director and producer team that has teamed up on so many productions in various roles over the years.
Litka directed “Lost in Yonkers” in April of 1996 at the Whidbey Playhouse and asked to bring it back during the Playhouse’s 50th anniversary season. It was so long ago that Riney wasn’t sure if she produced the first one, but Litka guessed that her best friend likely did.
“I asked if I could direct this one because it was a favorite of mine,” Litka said. “I love the fact that it is a wonderful blend of comedy and drama so you might be laughing in one moment and perhaps have a few tears in the next moment. I enjoy the fact that it makes me feel something for each of the characters and that’s what I appreciate about directing.”
Riney said the play is considered Simon’s master-work.
“They call it a coming-of-age story,” Riney said. “The boys grow up over a 10-month period living with their grandma and aunt. The whole family kind of grows up and comes to understand the power of family.”
The cast also includes Tamara Sykes, who plays a large role as Bella, the hyperactive, often under-appreciated aunt.
Andrew Huggins plays Eddie, the boys’ father who must hit the road to take on a traveling salesman job.
Lisa Judd plays Gert, another of the boys’ aunts who has challenges of her own.
Thursday night’s dress rehearsal didn’t wrap up until close to 10 p.m., which is past the time Harrison Keating normally puts his head on his pillow at night, but parent-teacher conferences kept him from worrying about an early wakeup call Friday.
He won’t have that luxury in coming weeks aside from spring break, but didn’t seem too concerned about it.
After all, there are a few scenes when he gets to catch up on some rest on a pull-out sofa next to his Darnell.
“He’s never really had a bed time,” Peter Keating said, breaking into a laugh. “I don’t know if it’s my fault. But we have a lot of fun together so sometimes we get in trouble for staying up too late.”
Lost in Yonkers
The dramatic comedy, “Lost in Yonkers,” will be performed at the Whidbey Playhouse April 1-17. The heartfelt and hilarious coming-of-age story by playwright Neil Simon of two young brothers set during World War II is directed by Gaye Litka and is produced by Sue Riney. Litka also produced the show in 1996. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and at 2:30 p.m. for Sunday matinees. Tickets are $18 and may be purchased by calling 360-679-2237, in person at 730 SE Midway Boulevard in Oak Harbor, or online at http://tix4.centerstageticketing.com/sites/whidbeyplayhouse/. For more information, go to www.whidbeyplayhouse.com
