DeWitt Main Theatre Brings THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO To The Stage, Opens 7/23

Opening on July 23rd at 8:00 p.m. in the DeWitt Main Theatre is The Last Night of Ballyhoo by Alfred Uhry, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Driving Miss Daisy. The Last Night of Ballyhoo was also the winner of the 1997 Tony Award for Best Play.

The Last Night of Ballyhoo is a charming and bittersweet comedy set in Atlanta on the day of the Gone with the Wind premiere in the pre-WWII era. Meanwhile, a segment of Atlanta's elite is more concerned with who will be attending Ballyhoo, the social holiday event of the season. The arrival of a handsome stranger, Joe, from New York forces the Freitag family to deal with who they really are as they are pulled apart and mended again. The family is forced to grapple with what traditions mean to them and why they are or are not practiced. The story is complete with plenty of gentle comedy, sweet romance, and unexpected turns.

Michael Haller, returning for his 3rd summer and a recent graduate of Ithaca College with a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre, plays Joe. This summer, Michael can also been seen playing Cinderella's Prince/The Wolf in Into The Woods and Émile in An Italian Straw Hat. Recent HSRT credits include Little Women (Laurie), Suds (The Man), and Forever Plaid (Frankie).

Playing Sunny, the most open-minded of the Freitag family, is Abbe Tanenbaum, also a recent graduate of Ithaca College. This season she is appearing in Into the Woods as Rapunzel and An Italian Straw Hat as Clara. Last summer Abbe was seen in Little Women (Beth) and both of the CPT shows. At Ithaca her credits include Children of Eden (Eve), The Last Night of Ballyhoo (Sunny), Metamorphosis (Sleep / Eurydice), In the Next Room (Sabrina Daldry), and she just finished producing and staring in a one woman show called The Architect of Shadow about the artist Louise Nevelson.

Director of the production is Daina Robins, back for her 17th season with HSRT. She also serves as chair of the Theatre Department at Hope College and teaches acting, directing, and theatre history. Past HSRT productions include last year's Little Women, Sarah, Plain and Tall, The Hypochondriac, The Drawer Boy, Rounding Third, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, The Game of Love and Chance, Footloose, Orphans, Three Viewings, Twelve Angry Men, Cinderella, The Turn of the Screw, and Dancing at Lughnasa. A founding member of Double Edge Theatre of Massachusetts, Daina holds a graduate degree from Tufts University.

Performances continue throughout the summer on July 24, 29, August 3, 6, 9, 11, and 13.

Tickets are now on sale through the DeVos Fieldhouse and DeWitt ticket offices. Prices range from $10-$26 for musicals and $8-$19 for plays. Season tickets, ranging from $48-$85, are also available. A Family Four Pack including tickets for two adults and two children is available this year for $55.

The ticket office is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday Saturdays at opening at noon. On performance dates, the DeWitt Ticket Office will be open through intermission. The ticket office is located in DeWitt Cultural Center at 12th Street and Columbia Avenue. For tickets call the ticket office at 616-395-7890. For more information visit the HSRT website at www.hope.edu/hsrt.

The DeWitt Theatre is located at 141 East 12th street. The Knickerbocker Theatre is located in Holland's downtown on 8th street.

HSRT is now on facebook! Keep up to date with what's happening this season by searching Hope Summer Repertory Theatre on www.facebook.com.

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