EXTENDED The Last Night of Ballyhoo

Presented by Main Street Theater at Main Street Theater - Rice Village

November 7-December 27, 2009

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The Last Night of Ballyhoo has been wildly popular with audiences and critics alike, and its run has been further extended through December 27. With special Wednesday night performances on December 9 and 23, Ballyhoo has performances on Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm at Main Street Theater – Rice Village, 2540 Times Blvd. (There...

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The Last Night of Ballyhoo has been wildly popular with audiences and critics alike, and its run has been further extended through December 27. With special Wednesday night performances on December 9 and 23, Ballyhoo has performances on Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm at Main Street Theater – Rice Village, 2540 Times Blvd. (There are no performances on December 13, 24 or 25.) Tickets range from $20 - $36, depending on date and section, and are on sale in person at the Main Street Theater Box Office, 2540 Times Blvd., via phone at 713.524.6706, or online at www.mainstreettheater.com.

Parent Play Day for The Last Night of Ballyhoo:

Parent Play Date is an opportunity for parents AND kids to have a night of theater! While the kids (ages 6 – 11) play theater games with Kids On Stage staff at MST – Chelsea Market, the parents will head to MST – Rice Village to see The Last Night of Ballyhoo on Saturday, December 12. Children can be dropped off at MST – Chelsea Market between 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. and must be picked up by 10:30 p.m. The cost is $20 for the first child; $15 for each additional child (plus the cost of the play tickets). The registration deadline is 5:00 p.m. on December 10 OR whenever the show sells out—whichever comes first. No last-minute registrations. Purchase your tickets and PPD slots in the same phone transaction prior to the deadline. Contact the MST Box Office at 713-524-6706.

Main Street Theater presents The Last Night of Ballyhoo, By Alfred Uhry. Directed by Steve Garfinkel. Previews November 7, 8, and 11. Runs November 12 – ~~December 13, 2009~~ at MST – Rice Village. (There are no performances on November 13 or 26). Performances are on Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm. “It’s heartbreakingly funny!” says MST Executive Artistic Director Rebecca Greene Udden of Alfred Uhry’s fun-filled play, The Last Night of Ballyhoo.

It’s December of 1939, and the world is facing great challenges, but the Freitag household in Atlanta is consumed with more immediate matters, such as the world premiere of Gone with the Wind and whether or not Lala will secure a date for Ballyhoo, the Jewish social event of the season. The author of Driving Miss Daisy turns a sharply amused eye on matters of assimilation and prejudice, identity and romance, in this rich portrait of a family struggling to know its place.

As he told Don Shewey from American Theatre, ‘‘I went to one of the last Ballyhoos there was, when I was 16—it was like a German-Jewish debutante ball.’’

However, Uhry also had a keen desire to explore Jewish identity, including prejudice inflicted on Jews by other Jews. Uhry combined these two interests to create the privileged world of the Levy/Freitag families. They live in a large home on one of Atlanta’s finest streets. They belong to an elite country club. Their children may attend prestigious private universities. All these trappings and conveniences of wealth, however, cannot change the fact that they are Jews who live in an overwhelmingly Christian society. The prejudice that they experience as a result of their religion does not deter them from embracing mainstream southern society or from replicating this discrimination within their own culture; German-Jews such as the Levys and Freitags look down on ‘‘the other kind’’ of Jews— Eastern European Jews.

While The Last Night of Ballyhoo deftly explores this anti-Semitism, Uhry also intersperses his serious message with sparkling banter, comedic non sequiturs, and hilarious charac ters and characterization.

After twenty-four previews, the Broadway production opened on February 27, 1997 at the Helen Hayes Theatre, where it ran for 556 performances. The Last Night of Ballyhoo won the Tony award in 1997 for Best Play as well as the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Broadway Play.

About Playwright Alfred Uhry
Born in Atlanta in 1936, Alfred Uhry later graduated from Brown University. He began his career as a lyric writer, under contract to the late Frank Loesser. In that capacity he made his Broadway debut in 1968 with Here's Where I Belong. He then wrote the book and lyrics for The Robber Bridegroom and was nominated for a Tony Award.

In 1987 his first play, Driving Miss Daisy, opened at Playwrights Horizons Theatre New York. It was subsequently moved to the John Houseman Theatre where it ran for over 1300 performances. The play earned many awards, including the Outer Critics Circle Award and the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. For the film version, Mr. Uhry won an Academy Award, and the film itself was voted Best Picture of the Year. Other films include Mystic Pizza and Rich in Love.

Mr. Uhry's second play, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, which was commissioned by the Cultural Olympiad for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, opened on Broadway in February 1997. It has been chosen Best Play by the American Theatre Critics Association, The Outer Critics Circle and The Drama League, as well as winning the 1997 Tony Award.

His most recent play was Parade, a musical about the Leo Frank case, with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and directed by Harold Prince.

About the Production
MST favorite Steve Garfinkel returns to direct The Last Night of Ballyhoo after starring in last season’s smash hit Awake and Sing! with Luisa-Amaral Smith who is back for Ballyhoo as Reba. Playing her wacky sister-in-law Boo is MST Executive Artistic Director Rebecca Greene Udden. Ms. Udden just directed Ms. Amaral-Smith in the English-language premiere of the powerful The House of the Spirits and was onstage herself last season in the Houston premiere of Wendy Wasserstein’s Third.

The rest of the cast includes Liz Cascio (The Light in the Piazza) as Lala, Jamie Geiger (Awake and Sing!, The Light in the Piazza) as Joe, Bethany McCade as Sunny, Jim Salners (Caroline, or Change, The Best Man) as Adolph, and Matt Tramel (The Reluctant Dragon, A Little House Christmas) as Peachy Weil.

The design team includes Trey Otis (set and properties design), Ruth Dentel (costume design), Daniel Polk (lighting design), and Janel J. Badrina (sound design). Rob Babbitt is the production stage manager.

Pictured above: L-R are Sunny Freitag (Bethany McCade) and beau Joe Farkas (Jamie Geiger).

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Main Street Theater - Rice Village

2540 Times Blvd.
Houston, TX 77005

Full map and directions

Tickets:

Tickets range from $20 - $36, depending on date and section, and are on sale in person at the Main Street Theater Box Office, 2540 Times Blvd., via phone at 713.524.6706, or online at www.mainstreettheater.com.

Times:

Opening night (Thursday, November 12, 2009) - 7:30pm

Thursdays - 7:30pm
Fridays - 8:00pm
Saturdays - 8:00pm
Sunday - 3:00pm

Extended through December 27. With special Wednesday night performances on December 9 and 23,

Previews November 7, 8, and 11. Runs November 12 – December 13, 2009. (There are no performances on November 13 or 26 or on December 13, 24 or 25.)

Phone: (713) 524-6706

Parking: Parking in the Village can be difficult, especially for Sunday Matinees. MST recommends that you arrive at least 20 minutes early to allow time to park and get to the theater. Remember, there is no late seating once the show starts.

Limited off street parking is available directly in front of the Rice Village Theater, and there is street parking all through out the village. Parallel parking can also be found on the east side of Kirby.

When the weather is nice, you might chose to park in the Village parking garage. The closest entrance can be found at Kelvin and Amherst, one block east and one block south of the Theater. There may be a nominal fee, but parking is free should you choose to dine at one of the Village Arcade eateries before the show.

We do ask that you be respectful of our neighbors and not park in any off street parking that is in front of open businesses. What's more, because of the nature of Village parking, many businesses will enforce towing.

The best way to beat the parking blues is to come early, find a convenient place near the theater and walk to a Village eatery for dinner or brunch!

From Southwest Houston (Sugar Land Area)
Take 59 North, pass the 610 Loop, and exit Kirby (just after The Compaq Center). Turn right onto Kirby. Cross Bissonnet and Sunset. When you reach Rice Blvd., go one more block to Times Blvd. (there's no traffic light). Turn left onto Times. MST is the third business on the left (next to Ovations).

From North Houston (The Woodlands/Downtown)
Take 45 South to 59 South and exit Kirby (if you see The Compaq Center, you've gone too far). Turn left onto Kirby. Cross Bissonnet and Sunset. When you reach Rice Blvd., go one more block to Times Blvd. (there's no traffic light). Turn left onto Times. MST is the third business on the left (next to Ovations).

From Southeast Houston (Clear Lake/Galveston)
Take 45 North to 59 South and exit Kirby (if you see The Compaq Center, you've gone too far). Turn left onto Kirby. Cross Bissonnet and Sunset. When you reach Rice Blvd., go one more block to Times Blvd. (there's no traffic light). Turn left onto Times. MST is the third business on the left (next to Ovations).

From I-10 coming from the West (Katy)
Take 610 Loop South to 59 North and exit Kirby (just after The Compaq Center). Turn right onto Kirby. Cross Bissonnet and Sunset. When you reach Rice Blvd., go one more block to Times Blvd. (there's no traffic light). Turn left onto Times. MST is the third business on the left (next to Ovations).

From I-10 coming from the East (Beaumont)
Take 59 South and exit Kirby (if you see The Compaq Center, you've gone too far). Turn left onto Kirby. Cross Bissonnet and Sunset. When you reach Rice Blvd., go one more block to Times Blvd. (there's no traffic light). Turn left onto Times. MST is the third business on the left (next to Ovations).

From Main Street Theater at Chelsea Market
Turn left onto Montrose. Make a right on Bissonnet. Pass Shepard and Greenbriar. Turn left onto Kirby. Pass Sunset Blvd. When you reach Rice Blvd., go one more block to Times Blvd. (there's no traffic light). Turn left onto Times. MST is the third business on the left (next to Ovations).