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This scenario is what drives Neil Simon’s dramedy, Lost in Yonkers. The two victims are Jay (Noah Madoff/Ryan McCartan) and Arty (Dylan Frederick/Ryan Howell) teenage brothers who are more or less abandoned at their grandmother’s apartment in Yonkers during World War II when their father, Eddie (Michael Booth), is forced into traveling salesmanship after borrowing money from a loan shark. His wife, the boys’ mother, died of cancer and left him swimming in medical bills and debt.

The infamous Grandmother (Rosaleen Linehan) is a stoic German Jew who claims to have never cried, not even at the funerals of her husband or two children. She runs a soda fountain below the apartment and quickly enlists the boys to work there for zero pay, all the while refusing to call them by anything but “Jakob” and “Arthur.”

As if it weren't bad enough to be living with the witch of a grandmother, they also find themselves sharing the small space with their hyperactive and developmentally disabled Aunt Bella (Finnerty Steeves). Bella, while very sensitive and eager to please, is on a constant quest to find love and live a normal life. She confides in the boys often and sees them as her only real friends.

Grandma’s other living children, Louie and Gert, also make an appearance in the apartment from time to time.

Louie (Stephen Pelinski) embodies machismo. He is always armed with a handgun and carries around a suspicious black satchel, often offering Jay and Arty money for inane reasons. While he won’t admit to his gangster life, there is no question that his immense gains are ill-gotten. Gert (Suzanne Warmanen), on the other hand, is timid and uptight. She is arguably the most afraid of Grandma and tends to suck in the last half of her sentences, much to the boys' amusement.

The cast of seven works through a variety of trials over the course of ten months. Despite their hatred of the situation, the boys never see a dull moment. From learning the true meaning of “moxie” to Louie to sneaking around trying to uncover Grandma’s supposed riches, they are never short of things to write to their father about.

“Lost in Yonkers” is the second play to show on the Wurtele Thrust Stage, the largest of three production spaces in the new Guthrie. Despite being a single scene set, the performance space remains fresh by innovative forms of lighting and vigorous blockingčnothing is ever concentrated in one place for too long, especially with Bella around.

The acting is lively and features especially impressive performances from the Jay and Arty characters (when I saw it, Noah Madoff and Ryan Howell). The entire ensemble worked well together and kept the story moving for all of the two-and-a-half hours.

While funny in places, the story was more a sobering portrait of the consequences of an intensely loveless household. It begs the question of what might have happened had Grandma cried, even once.

The play continues through November 12. Tickets run between $22-$52, though there is a student discount, and are available online through guthrietheatre.org or by calling the box office at 612-377-2224.