Birmingham Village Players bring real-life chemistry to the stage

BIRMINGHAM — The Birmingham Village Players’ production of Neil Simon’s “Lost in Yonkers” explores the dynamic of a family living in Yonkers, New York, in 1942. It revolves around two teenage boys who move in with their grandmother and Aunt Bella while their father is traveling for work.

The cast of “Lost in Yonkers” includes two actors who are best friends in real life and play siblings in the show: Andrea McDonald as Aunt Bella and Russell Boyle as Eddie. McDonald and Boyle met as Wayne State University students in 1992 — both in the university’s BFA performing arts program.

In his senior year, Boyle moved to New York to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and remained in New York for 25 years. Upon his return to Detroit, Boyle and McDonald reconnected.

A few years ago, they performed in the Birmingham Village Players’ production of “The Producers.” However, they weren’t interacting on stage in the way that they do in “Lost in Yonkers.”

“The last few years, we’ve been doing theater again together, but we’ve never been in a show where we actually share a scene,” Boyle said. “It’s been a long time coming. It’s kind of exciting to have that resurgence, on top of our rekindled friendship.”

McDonald shared how their real friendship positively impacts their characters’ chemistry onstage.

“It’s magic onstage, because being onstage, you have to have that trust. You have to know that if something happens and you forget a line, that person has your back, or that person is with you emotionally on that same level,” McDonald said.

 

A full circle moment
One of Bella’s monologues is very familiar to McDonald because it was a monologue that she used to get into Wayne State’s theater program — where she met Boyle.

McDonald’s character, Bella, undergoes a major transformation throughout the show as she grows to be more independent from her mother.

To make sure she is accurately playing Bella, McDonald said she has been “diving into the whole show” for eight months. She said she works hard to fully embody her.

“I don’t want it to be Andrea playing Bella. I want it to be Bella onstage,” McDonald said.

 

See the show
“Lost in Yonkers,” directed by Eileen White, will run Nov. 7-23. Shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday begin at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m.

Individual reserved tickets can be purchased for $30, which includes a ticketing fee. Purchase tickets by calling the box office, (248) 644-2075, or by placing an order on the website, birminghamvillageplayers.com.