The Last Night of Ballyhoo Was A Great Success!

BECCA PLESKOW '10 & ADINA JICK '10

The Last Night of Ballyhoo, an interesting play about a Jewish family living in the south, was the winter play at Beaver this year. The play centers on a family portrayed by, Dan Katz, Jesse Rosenberg, Lindsey Yudkoff, Sara Mooney, and Hannah Hutton that wrestles with its Jewish identity. The family members try to deny their Jewish roots until they meet Joe Farkas (played by Sophomore Gus Polstein). Joe’s love interest with Sunny, Hannah Hutton, inspires her to embrace her Jewish identity.

The Last Night of Ballyhoo directed by Ms.Yolles was perfectly cast and exquisitely performed. The audience was enthralled by the tension between the characters. Sunny (Hannah Hutton) and Lala’s (Jesse Rosenberg) fight over Joe Farcus (Gus Polstein) kept the audience on the edge of their seats. The love interests between Lala (Jesse Rosenberg) and Peachy (Zack Levandov) was particularly humorous and enjoyable for the audience. The humor in the play was well delivered, and also sent a message to the audience, urging them to accept their true identities.

The set’s positioning was realistic to the given circumstances. Although at times the actors’ backs faced the audience, the blocking did not detract from the quality of the performance. The location of the audience enabled the viewers to enter the world (and literal living room) of the characters. The costumes also added to the performance. They were extremely realistic for the time period and the woman’s dresses even reflected each of their personalities.

A job well-done to everyone involved in the play!