Main Street Theater Extends THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO Through 12/20
By: Gabrielle Sierra Nov. 30, 2009
The Last Night of Ballyhoo has been wildly popular with audiences and critics alike, and its run has been extended through December 20. With a special Wednesday night performance on December 9, 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 is no performance on Sunday, December 13.) 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Since 1975, Main Street Theater has produced high quality professional theater for audiences of all ages through its MainStage productions and Main Street Youth Theater. The Main Street Theater Kids On Stage program offers performing arts classes and camps for children 5 years to 14 years of age. The organization produces plays at two locations, 2540 Times Boulevard in Rice Village and 4617 Montrose Boulevard at Chelsea Market.
Main Street Theater is a member of the Fresh Arts Coalition, a collaboration of 25 arts organizations that work collectively to raise awareness of the size and diversity of the arts in Houston, and a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for not-for-profit theaters. Main Street Theater offers a lively year-round repertory of classic and contemporary plays for audiences of all ages and provides a much-needed showcase for Houston theater professionals. Main Street Theater is also a member of Actors' Equity Association and of ASSITEJ, the world theatre network of theatre for children and young people. Main Street Theater is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.
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