The Last Night of Ballyhoo at Howson Hall Theater at First UU Church

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2. The Last Night of Ballyhoo

Winner of the 1997 Tony Award for Best Play, THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO takes place in Atlanta, Georgia, in December of 1939. Gone with the Wind is having its world premiere, and Hitler is invading Poland, but Atlanta’s elitist German Jews are much more concerned with who is going to Ballyhoo, the social event of the season. Especially concerned is the well to do Freitag family of Atlanta. Things get complicated when family patriarch Adolph brings his new assistant, Joe Farkas, home for dinner. Joe is a Brooklyn born Jew and of Eastern European heritage—several social rungs below the Freitags, in the minds of some in the family. Events take several ironic and unexpected turns as the characters face where they come from and are forced to deal with who they really are. It’s an achingly beautiful play, with plenty of comedy, romance and revelations along the way.

Authors

• Alfred Uhry