Tony award winning play makes appearance locally

By Jeff Cantwell
Staff Writer

The life and times of 1930s Jews are brought to life this weekend in a Tony award winning play.

"The Last Night of Ballyhoo," is opening at the Civic Theatre in Lafayette on Sept. 14 until Sept. 30.

Written by Alfred Uhry, the Pulitzer Prize winner and the author of "Driving Miss Daisy," "Ballyhoo" is a love story that examines the socio-political dilemma of Southern Jews trying to assimilate with Southern Episcopalians in the late 1930s.

The director for "Ballyhoo," Barry Schreier, said when going over plays at the Civic Theatre, this play stood out above the rest.

"It is masterfully written," said Schreier. "It's a smart modern drama and it deals with good, gritty issues."

Schreier also said that the play is based on the real Ballyhoo, a Jewish debutante ball that took place in the South.

At the center of "Ballyhoo" are the Freitags, a family of German Jews, bachelor Adolph, his sister Boo Levy, their sister-in-law Reba, Boo's daughter LaLa and LaLa's cousin Sunny.

In Ballyhoo, Boo Levy is obsessed with marrying her daughter off to a son of a wealthy southern Jewish family. She believes that the ball is LaLa's last chance to find a husband.

Later in the play, Adolph brings home his new assistant, Joe Farkas. Joe is an Eastern Jew from New York who becomes a possible love interest for LaLa, but ultimately falls for her cousin Sunny.

Peachy is another character played by Andrew Rhoda, a sophomore in the School of Liberal Arts, who adds to the theme of social stratification in the play.

"He's the classic rich kid," said Rhoda. "I shoot my mouth off to the other characters … especially Joe because he's the 'other kind.'"

The play focuses on cultural identity, racism and anti-Semitism in 1930s Atlanta, said Schreier. But it is still a comedic drama that will not fail to entertain.

"An audience could go to the play and be highly entertained," said Schreier. "But they might learn something from it."

Broc Sibe, a Purdue employee who plays Joe Farkas in the play, also thinks that the play touches on important social issues.

"It's about people being who they are and not trying to camouflage themselves with what is generally accepted as what they should be."

Sibe is making his debut in this performance. He is pleased about how the new experience has been for him.

"I'm very thankful of the talented people I've worked with," said Sibe. "The director is just fantastic."

This is the fourth play Schreier has directed for the Lafayette Civic Theatre and he is happy with the way the play has progressed in past six weeks.

"This is the smoothest production I've ever worked on," said Schreier.

"The set is so beautifully constructed, that we've had people come say they would rather live there then live in their own homes."

Schreier said that even though there are some funny parts in the play and it is love story, he does not want the audience to forget about its socio-political message.

"It's a minority trying to assimilate and get along with a majority culture," Schreier said.

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