In a household where the only concession to its own Judaism is a debate over whether to place a star atop the Christmas tree, Ballyhoo, with its careful appropriation of all things genteel and gentile, is a major event. The year is 1939, but for Uhry’s well-off Jewish assimilationists, far-off reports of Germany’s threat take a distant backseat to Ballyhoo, Atlanta’s annual holiday - Christmas holiday - ball for the young Jewish society set. But where Wasserstein focused on expatriate New Yorkers, Uhry returns to the Atlanta that inspires his deliciously comic voice. In fact, “Ballyhoo” and “Rosensweig” share more than style: Both plays deal with issues of self-hatred and denial within their respective Jewish upper-class milieus. Re-assembling the “Driving Miss Daisy” crew - Uhry, Ivey and director Ron Lagomarsino - “Ballyhoo” inflicts no sophomore curse on the team, and indeed is a more than worthy successor to the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Daisy.” Using the manner and technique of boulevard comedy as its backdrop, “Ballyhoo” addresses some weighty issues with the same combination of ease and purpose that marked Wendy Wasserstein’s “The Sisters Rosensweig” some seasons back.
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