Lost in Yonkers

Fifteen-year-old Jay is pragmatic and protective, quickly learning to navigate Grandma's rigid rules. He serves as the more calculating counterpart to his younger brother Arty and takes decisive action to help his father. His resourcefulness and willingness to bend rules show a premature maturity shaped by hardship.

Thirteen-year-old Arty is impressionable and eager to please, often pulled between his brother's plans and Grandma's demands. He follows Jay's lead and grows more confident as events unfold, learning the harsh realities of their world. His innocence highlights the costs of a life shadowed by conflict.

A stern, formidable matriarch, Grandma embodies the legacy of trauma that shaped her generation. She believes in steel-like resilience and enforces discipline to survive a harsh world. Beneath the tough exterior lies grief for lost family members and a guarded, protective love.

Bella is warm, hopeful, and enchanted by Johnny, seeking a life beyond Grandma's rules. She longs for independence and a future where she can run a restaurant with Johnny. Her compassion often clashes with Grandma's rigidity, but she ultimately bridges generations.

Louie is a tough, independent mobster who returns to his mother's house to escape danger. He alternates between street-smarts and a compassionate streak with his nephews, encouraging them to have 'moxie' while revealing the costs of a criminal lifestyle. His presence links crime to family legacy.

Johnny is the gentle, slow-learning head usher Bella loves, whose dream is to marry Bella and open a restaurant. He provides a quiet counterpoint to the chaos, showing that kindness and patience can coexist with dreams. His relationship with Bella exposes vulnerability and hope.

Eddie is a traveling salesman and the boys' father, determined to pay off the medical debt that haunted his family. He arrives to reclaim his sons, balancing tough necessities with a desire to preserve his children's welfare. His absence and reappearance drive much of the family’s tension and reconciliation.

Hollywood Harry is the mobster whose pursuit for a precious bag adds external peril to the family story. His presence represents the criminal underworld that invades domestic space. The danger he personifies heightens the stakes for the household and its fragile truce.

Gert, the Kurnitz siblings’ sister, lives with a fear of Grandma that left her with a speech impediment. She embodies vulnerability within the family—an emblem of how trauma shapes speech, confidence, and social ease. Her presence adds a gentle, awkward texture to the household dynamics.