Jan. 29, 2003 -- The University of Wyoming Department of Theatre and Dance will present
Alfred Uhry's "The Last Night of Ballyhoo" Feb. 10-15, with all curtain times at 7:30
p.m. in the UW Fine Arts main stage.
Ticket prices are $13 for general admission, $6 for students and $11 for senior citizens.
The Feb. 13 performance will be sign language interpreted. Hearing impaired devices
will be available for every performance.
Directed by Lou Anne Wright, the play features several UW students: Lindsay Cozzens
of Laramie will play "Reba"; Jonas Dickson of Rock Springs will play "Peachy"; Kate
Ewing of Beaumont, Texas, will play "Sunny"; Heather Kaloust of Arvada, Colo., will
play "Boo"; Hannah Kellerby of Cody will play "Lala"; Brandon Taylor of Rawlins will
play "Joe"; and Dennis Wadsworth of Laramie will play "Adolph."
"The Last Night of Ballyhoo" is inspired by the playwright's personal memories and
family histories of Atlanta, Ga. The play opened during the 1996 Olympic Arts Festival
after Uhry realized the last time Atlanta was in the spotlight was when "Gone With
the Wind" opened. When the play opened at the Helen Hayes Theater on Broadway, in
February of 1997, it won that season's Tony Award for Best Play.
Uhry is the first American playwright to win the "Triple Crown" of dramatic writing:
a Tony Award, an Oscar and a Pulitzer Prize. Uhry's "The Robber Bridegroom" earned
a Tony nomination for best book of a musical and received the Drama Desk Awards for
both book and lyrics. His first non-musical production "Driving Miss Daisy" was an
off-Broadway hit and transferred to Broadway with more than 1,300 performances. When
the play went to film with Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman, Uhry earned an Oscar
for best screenplay. His other screenplays include, "Mystic Pizza" (1988) and "Rich
in Love" (1993). After "The Last Night of Ballyhoo," Uhry wrote the book "Parade,"
which earned another Tony Award.
Posted on Wednesday, January 29, 2003
