The Last Night of Ballyhoo [Hardcover]

Alfred UHRY (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1997

By the Pulitzer Prixe winning author of Driving Miss Daisy

Product Details

• Hardcover: 99 pages
• Publisher: Theatre Communications Group; 1ST edition (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568656076
• ISBN-13: 978-1568656076
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,085,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Won't Want to See the Last of Ballyhoo, May 26, 1998

By 

A. R. Karpe "ARKendall" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Last Night of Ballyhoo (Paperback)

Alfred Uhry's stunning play, "The Last Night of Ballyhoo" achieves two major accomplishments: it examines the timeless issue of biggotry (even within one's own minority group)and delivers it in a gift wrapped package which looks, feels and sounds like a good old fashioned Broadway play. Like "Driving Miss Daisy," Uhry examines the peculiarities in the lives of Southern Jews, drawing a great deal of humor from the "fish out of water" theme that seems to plague his lovable and ultimately loving family. Set against the darker backdrop of Americans in 1939 speculating what Hitler may or may not do in Europe, the characters in Ballyhoo dance with and around one another as they struggle for acceptance within their own community. Issues of racism are raised when the Jewish characters try to delineate the idea of "us" and "them" within the confines of Jewish society in Atlanta and other prominent Southern cities. Ultimately, Uhry shows us (as in "Miss Daisy") that there is no "us" v. "them," there is simply "us." That may sound overly simplistic, but Uhry's points stay with us long after the play is finished. That is the sign of a playwright who is a true craftsman. Would you like to see how a good play is constructed? Then pick up "The Last Night of Ballyhoo."

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Beauty of Ballyhoo, January 23, 2000

By 

J. Bragg "bobear12" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Last Night of Ballyhoo (Paperback)

The Last Night of Ballyhoo is a powerful piece of drama. We see this powerful genius in its ability to draw laughter and tears from an audience in a single dizzy breath: who can forget Lala's burst of kleptomania, or Sunny's candle-lit Shabbat prayer in the final scene? I was blessed to take part in a community theater production of this play as Lala Levy; as a result of this opportunity, I and the cast came to know intimately the characters of Ballyhoo, and through them we lived the larger whole. From an actress' point of view I can tell you that the striking beauty, quick wit, and profound themes of this play can scarce be rivaled. However, whether one approaches this play as a reader, audience member, or actor, one will become more sensitized to the prejudices that ever haunt our race - the fear of "the other kind," be they separated from us by "the Elbe" or some less tangible distinction. Along with the characters of Ballyhoo we discover anew that there is no "us" and "them" - only "us."

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A second great work by an under-appreciated genius, July 6, 1999

By 

Peter Carrozzo (Flushing, New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Last Night of Ballyhoo (Paperback)

Alfred Uhry strikes again with his second work examining racism and anti-semitism in the American South. In a clever twist, the playwright focuses on the prejudice of Jews of German decent against "the other kind" meaning Jews of Slavic decent. This infinitesimally subtle difference in ethnicity represents a world of difference in Southern Jewish society.

Exploiting the significance of such a minor distinction, Mr. Uhry expertly exhibits the lunacy of every type of racism.