The Last Night of Ballyhoo
by Alfred Uhry
Wednesdays, November 29, December 6, 2:00 pm
Saturdays, December 2, 9, 7:30 pm
Sundays, December 3, 10, 2:00 pm
Set in December 1939 in Atlanta’s upper class German-Jewish community, Hitler has recently conquered Poland, Gone with the Wind is about to premiere, and Adolph Freitag, owner of the Dixie Bedding Company, his sister Boo, and sister-in-law Reba, along with nieces Lala and Sunny – a Jewish family so highly assimilated they have a Christmas tree in the front parlor – are looking forward to Ballyhoo, a lavish cotillion ball sponsored by their restrictive country club. Adolph’s employee, Joe Farkas, is an attractive eligible bachelor and an Eastern European Jew, familiar with prejudice but unable to fathom its existence within his own religious community. His presence prompts college student Sunny to examine bias between Jews of different upbringing, her lack of Jewish identity, and the beliefs with which she has been raised. Alfred Uhry is also the playwright of the beloved Driving Miss Daisy and the Tony Award-winning musical Parade.
Bonus $10 Lecture with Each Ticket Purchase!*
Friday, December 8, 1:00 pm
Southern Jews in the Plays of Alfred Uhry with Rachel Gordan, Ph.D.
Learn more about playwright Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, and Broadway’s recent megahit Parade), who drew on his upbringing in southern Jewish society and his understanding of its divisions. As a young man growing up in the 1940’s and 50’s, Uhry was a Jew who might have preferred to be a Christian. It wasn’t until a 1992 visit to Israel that he learned to wear his Jewishness more proudly.
*Once you have purchased your ticket for the theater performance, please call 561-558-2520 to purchase your $10 ticket for this lecture. Limited quantity available; first come, first served.
The Sunshine Boys
by Neil Simon
Wednesdays, January 3, 10, 17, 2:00 pm
Saturdays, January 6, 13, 20, 7:30 pm
Sundays, January 7, 14, 2:00 pm
One of Neil Simon’s most beloved comedies, this is the story of Al and Willie, who, as “Lewis and Clark,” were top-billed vaudevillians for more than forty years. Animosity between the partners has grown to the point where they haven’t spoken in twelve years. When CBS requests they appear in a “History of Comedy” retrospective, Willie’s nephew, a young theatrical agent, attempts to re-unite the feuding former vaudevillian greats. This grudging reunion brings the two back together, along with a flood of memories, miseries, and laughs. The two men try to remaster their sketch, but have much to work out before they are ready to return to the public eye.
Proof
by David Auburn
Wednesdays, February 7, 14, 21, 2:00 pm
Saturdays, February 10, 17, 24, 7:30 pm
Sundays, February 4, 18, 2:00 pm
Proof is the story of enigmatic young woman, her manipulative sister, their brilliant father, and an unexpected suitor. They are all pieces of the puzzle in the search for the truth behind a mysterious mathematical proof. The young but guarded Catherine grieves over the loss of her father, a famous mathematician who had become a legend at the local university for solving complicated proofs and for suffering from dementia. Just as Catherine begins to give in to her fear that she, too, might suffer from her father’s condition, Catherine’s older sister Claire returns home to help “settle” family affairs, and Hal, their father’s former student, discovers an old notebook that brings to light a buried family secret. This poignant drama about love and reconciliation unfolds on the back porch of a house in a suburban university town.
Visiting Mr. Green
by Jeff Baron
Wednesdays, March 13, 20, 2:00 pm
Saturdays, March 16, 23, 7:30 pm
Sundays, March 17, 24, 2:00 pm
Mr. Green, an 86-year-old widower living in Manhattan, is almost hit by a car driven by young corporate executive Ross Gardiner. Found guilty of reckless driving, Ross is ordered to spend the next six months making weekly visits to Mr. Green, who, after his wife’s death, has retreated from life, letting himself and his apartment go to ruin. Ross is lonely too, but instinctively nurturing. The story starts as a comedy about two people who resent being forced together but develops into a gripping and poignant drama as family secrets are revealed and old wounds are opened. This beloved play, one of the most produced in the world over the past 25 years, has reached millions of theater-goers on six continents.