"The Last Night of Ballyhoo"

Theatre review
"The Last Night of Ballyhoo" at Ithaca College
The Ithaca Journal
December 13, 2007
746 words
"Selco bows out with a fine 'Last Night of Ballyhoo'"

full text here

Selco bows out with a fine ‘Last Night of Ballyhoo'
By Mark Tedeschi
Special to The Journal

The “ballyhoo” in Ithaca College's latest production, Alfred Uhry's dramedy “The Last Night of Ballyhoo,” referred to an exclusive Jewish country club's annual social shindig, an event that is built up higher than it deserves. The characters' disappointment following the function suggests the dictionary definition of the word: “used to refer to one who uses any means necessary to inflate an object or idea to a status to which it does not rise.” IC's production, on the other hand, offered quite the opposite.

“Ballyhoo,” which closed Dec. 9, was award-winning director and IC theater professor Arno Selco's final show (after over 80 directing credits and 25 years teaching at IC), and he certainly rose to the expectations; it was a smart, sophisticated, well-directed production devoid the frills or extravagance you might find in a less attentive director's grand finale.

The story, written in 1996 for the Olympic Arts Festival in Georgia (along with “Driving Miss Daisy” and “Parade”), was a significant personal choice for Selco. “[It's] about the recognition and acceptance of each individual's way of life, in spite of societal pressure to be like everyone else,” he wrote in the program notes. “This is a phenomenon I have experienced.”

“Ballyhoo” takes place in Atlanta in 1939 and follows a Jewish family (the Frietags) through their holiday season. They seem happy enough, but eventually the discontent hidden beneath hoop skirts and Christmas trees boils over. For the most part, they're good people, too - just misguided by the identity crises related to being Jewish, American and southern. For them, the premiere of “Gone With the Wind” supersedes in importance anything Hitler may be up to across the globe.

The set design (Samantha Yaeger), though, was the first element that grabbed my attention. The hardwood floors and wallpaper - both hand-painted, though you'd never guess by looking - served as the backbone of a confident set layered with depth that allowed the actors to move up and down, back and forth, left and right across the stage. There was a living room, a kitchen, a staircase, a second-story facade, and two extra pieces of scenery that appeared (literally) when they needed to.

The lighting (Teresa Sears) was at once subtle and prominent, as it worked closely with the sound design (Jeff Strange); the unmistakable noise of a car pulling into a driveway fit precisely with the understated glow of headlights from the windows at stage left. The scenes were punctuated mostly with Christmas music, an auditory reminder that these characters, donning beautiful, time-and-locale-appropriate costumes (designed by Katie Delaney), remained stuck in a perpetual cultural confusion.

There was Lala (Lauren Wightman), the graceful but socially unsuccessful “natural born usherette” daughter, and her supposedly “less-Jewish”-looking sister Sunny (Abbe Tanenbaum); Boo (Meredith Ashley Beck), the mother who was ever eager to find Lala a date for Ballyhoo; Reba (Dani Stoller), the absentminded aunt; and Adolph (Daniel Greenwood), the sagacious bachelor uncle. Wightman and Greenwood offerred standout performances with natural, well-timed delivery.

Romantic interests for the girls showed up later: Joe Farkas (Michael Haller), an actual practicing Jew whose only shortcoming, to the members of the Frietag's club, is that he is of Eastern Orthodox descent; and Peachy Weil (Ace Heckathorn), a charming jester of a young man who rivets listeners with fantastic stories, only to throw his audience off guard with a goofy catch phrase (which I won't spoil). The strongest conflict emerged when Joe discovered the nature of the Ballyhoo club's exclusivity.

At first, I couldn't decide why Selco didn't choose a “bigger” production for his final work. With his credentials, it probably wouldn't have been hard to create a show teeming with flamboyance, even flamboyance that could enhance the story's message. Instead, he chose a work that raised clear and familiar yet relevant and universal questions. To name a few: What does it mean to “be” Jewish, or for that matter, to be born into any sort of label? Is it a question of inheritance, practice, or both? Moreover, should following one's heritage be a conscious choice or an obligation? Do certain inborn characteristics or harmless practices discredit one's right to acceptance?

The answer to that last question was obviously “no,” but you don't need to look far to see that too many people disagree. I imagine that Selco was eager to take this last chance to encourage cooperation amid discord, while at the same time, exercising the satisfying opportunity to showcase the talents he fine-tuned through his illustrious career.