Lost in Yonkers, the Neil Simon Pulitzer Prize-winning play, directed and produced by the Herricks Community Players, opened at the Herricks Community Theater, 999 Herricks Road, New Hyde Park, last weekend and the audience response was overwhelming as they gave standing ovations to each and every member of the ensemble cast.

The play, a more or less bittersweet comedy, is set at the time of the war and focuses on two young brothers who are left in the care of their intimidating and frightening grandmother, in a dysfunctional household, while their father goes out West to sell scrap iron to pay off the debt incurred due to their mother's illness and eventual death from cancer.

Director John Hayes and Assistant Director Paul Bianchi and producer Carol Hayes have masterfully chosen the very best cast in the Long Island area to play the very important roles in this pathos-filled piece and they have directed them so masterfully.

Barbara Murphy, no stranger to the Herricks Community Players, and a pro, plays the role of Bella the lovable aunt who is childlike in some ways and yet in others yearns for the normal life of a woman that she will never attain. Murphy brings to this role such gut wrenching feeling and sympathy that it is impossible not to shed a tear or two for her character and you truly appreciate what a marvelous actress she is to be able to portray to the audience such strong emotional feelings.

Soyna Tannenbaum, the First Lady of the Long Island Theater, is the stern and seemingly mean Grandma Kurnitz, and she is, as usual, magnificent. Any little boy would be terrified by her, but underneath she is only trying to make them "strong, " as she had to be in Nazi Germany, to face the world.

The young boys are played by James Toback, who is so very good in his role of Jay and Dylan Kaplan in his role as Arty. Both young boys have huge roles and manage to sustain their roles throughout the show. They are both wonderful and obviously very experienced to be able to be on stage as long as they are and never

Mike Beaury plays the brother Louie, an obvious gangster who to hideout, comes to spend a few nights and manages to both scare and entrance the young boys. He, too, an experienced actor is fantastic in his role as he relates his childhood in great detail to the impressionable boys.

Jim Burns, the father, who has to go off and leave his sons, is great. He is so comfortable on the stage as he sets up the reason he has to leave his boys. He, too, is extremely experienced and he manages to stay connected throughout the entire piece by his "voice-over" letters. Very clever.

Rachel Zampino, another very experienced actress, plays a wonderful cameo role as Gert in this production, but does it so well. She has a breathing problem which causes her to not really be able to finish a sentence and her handling of the difficult role is outstanding.

Naturally, no stage production would be possible without the behind-the-scenes crew and always in Herricks that crew is incredible. From the important role of set designer by Gail Keats, to the set construction by Bob Leslie and Steve Szachacz, to the lighting design by the talented Daniel Moskovitz and the sound design by Richard Gibbons, costuming by Eleanor and Shelley Leslie along with Penny Payne to the stage managing skills of Margo Bayroff and the management of tickets by Bernice Magalnick to the stage crew of Christine Cardella-Turner, Josephine Licata, Annmarie Pistilli, Cheryl Glusband and Maggi Whitely.

There is still one more weekend left to see this very touching and truly magnificent production of one of the best Neil Simon's plays, put on by the best on Long Island, the Herricks Community Players. Tickets are $20 for adults, $17 for senior citizens and $15 for students and children. For tickets and further information to 742-1926. Don't miss it.