Think about celebrities, movie premieres, the social event of the year and World War Two. Now think about racism, bigotry, discrimination and shame. How do these ideas go together?
While most are no longer part of today's society, all of them were prominent in Atlanta, GA, 1939. That is the setting of Alfred Uhry's \The Last Night of Ballyhoo,"" currently being performed by the University Theater.
""The Last Night of Ballyhoo"" is a story about two Jewish families as they prepare for the social event of the year, Ballyhoo, a debutante ball. Mothers Boo Levy and Reba Freitag fret over who their daughters Lala and Sunny will go with to the dance, but the girls have more pressing things on their minds.
Lala is excited about the movie premiere of ""Gone with the Wind"" happening downtown and Sunny is so busy studying for her final exams, she may not even go to Ballyhoo. But a newcomer, Joe Farkas, changes everything.
Norma Saldivar, the director of Ballyhoo explains that one of the reasons she decided to carry the play over from the summer is because of the way it is first presented to the audience and the strong themes that are eventually revealed.
""The glitz of ""Gone with Wind"" has superseded all the other events doing on, including the impending World War,"" Saldivar said. ""[However,] the story is about so much more than two Jewish girls going to a little dance.""
We learn that the Levys and Freitags are of German descent, while Joe is the ""other kind"" of Jew, one from Eastern Europe. Discrimination slowly creeps into the story, as Joe gets to know the girls and learns that both have faced discrimination in the past because of their religion. Later in the play, Joe learns that his kind isn't welcome where Ballyhoo is being held, and asks his date, Sunny, why she brought him, and later accuses her of being a Jew hater.
Josh Aaron McCabe, who plays Joe, hopes audiences will see the sadness that comes from separation, especially within groups of similar religion.
""In this play, people who should be bonding together find ways to draw lines trying to separate themselves from one another,"" said McCabe, ""instead of embracing each other, which is kind of sad.""
Saldivar concurs, adding that the themes of the play are not unique to Jewish communities, but to all cultures, which is why all audiences can appreciate it.
""These internal biases exist in many ethnic communities,"" said Saldivar. ""The story transcends race, color, culture and ethnicity, yet it allows us to laugh at our own foibles.""
The play also touches on the ideas of social standing, yet neither girl is worried about ending up in a ""respectable"" union.
Carrie Coon, who plays Sunny, wanted to express how Sunny grows as a person throughout the play.
""She's at a very pivotal time in her life, a place of searching, and I know I've been in that place myself,"" Coon said.
Lauren Montgomery, who plays Lala, agrees.
""Lala is lost at the beginning of the play, something everyone can relate to,"" said Montgomery. ""She's really struggling to find her true identity.""
The Last Night of Ballyhoo is a play that every race, color and ethnicity should attend. While Uhry presents tough themes, he does it with heart and even a touch of humor. It's a story audiences of all ages can relate to, because it makes us come to terms with who we are, both as individuals and as a multicultural society, by discovering we are more alike than we all believe.
