Photo Flash: THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO at the Main Street Theater

Main Street Theater presents a production of The Last Night of Ballyhoo with performances from November 7-December 13.

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.

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.

With previews November 7, 8 and 11, The Last Night of Ballyhoo opens Thursday, November 12, and runs through December 13 at Main Street Theater. (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. 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.