Sometimes visiting family can help you find yourself.

And other times, returning to the neurosis, the secrets and the arguments ... You might feel lost.

The latter scenario is captured in "Lost in Yonkers" the Neil Simon play now running at the Lake City Playhouse.

Centered around teenage brothers Jay and Arty Kurnitz holed up with their stoic grandmother and quirk-riddled aunt in 1940s Yonkers, it finely expresses the dualism of family members' instincts to protect each other and rip each other apart all at once.

It's a little hard to call the play a comedy, though there are plenty of well earned laughs from the versatile cast and intriguing script. The plot simply comes down to several individuals in sad situations who interact in a comical way. A fair share of the moments that generate laughter could easily garner a sigh, if seen in real life.

It should be noted here that the production is at times poignant and other times odd or ridiculous, and the strong actors fully grasp how to play the different tones.

There's both the easy wit and natural sentimentality of this production familiar in Simon's play "The Odd Couple." Fresh after losing their mother to cancer, the boys, played by Josh Ratelle and Josh Nelson, must live with relatives. Their father, played by Steve Kane last seen starring in "Fiddler on the Roof," is in debt from medical bills, and has to travel across the country for a year to scrounge up cash.

Staying with grandma,played by Tamara Schupman, is hardly a vacation of baked treats and kindly hugs. The German immigrant is cold and unfeeling, and determined to shape her posterity into steely strength by occasional wallopings, vicious scrutiny and tests of work ethic.

Aunt Bella, played by Hannah Paton, is her foil. Still living with her mother at 35, the somewhat mentally stunted woman effuses warmth and love in her happy confusion.

Battles of will ensue, among other surprising interactions, and the excellent cast shines in the alternating hilarious and tragic conversations.

Ratelle and Nelson are capable young actors. Their roles carry the bulk of the production, and the boys show natural comedic timing as their characters roll with the onslaught of punches. Nelson in particular wears a world weariness expected for someone decades older, his face often contorted into a tired confusion, like everything is a puzzle that there aren't pieces enough to solve.

Paton and Schupman both embrace the opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. Paton puts on a constantly giddy display bouncing between delight and bewilderment, a performance that could have been irritating but that Paton pulls off as endearing. Schupman is harsh and unyielding, and bears a constant tightness that makes it believable she could lash out with her cane and really draw some blood.

Kane makes his character charming and sympathetic in his appearances. Actor Eric Paine, dropping in as the morally dubious Uncle Louie, comfortably juggles his character's dual nature of cynical tough guy and protective relative.

The production might bring up some memories of awkward family reunions. But it also reminds that accepting each others' eccentricities is what makes family relationships so binding.

"Lost in Yonkers" runs through May 6. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. on Sundays.

For tickets, call 667-1323 or go to lakecityplayhouse.org.

Alecia Warren is a staff writer for The Press. She can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2011, or via e-mail at awarren@cdapress.com.