They've even found a group against which they themselves may discriminate: "the other ones," a code phrase meaning Jews of Eastern European extraction. The Jewish community of Atlanta, in fact, has raised the bar for "fitting in" to dangerous heights, creating the Ballyhoo cotillion as a Judaic alternative for those country-club dances from which they've long been barred. When you first hear those cackling Southern drawls coming out of the Freitag clan (circa 1939), you'll likely have the same reaction as visiting Brooklynite Joe (Brian Herndon): "Are you people really Jewish?" The latest, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, gives one helluva shot at a new variation, mixing anti-Semitism with old-fashioned Southern racism, but playwright Alfred Uhry wusses out on the juiciest aspect of all, intra-Jewish hatred. THE FOLKS AT TheatreWorks have finally run out the string on Jewish assimilation plays. The Freitags of Atlanta are busy trying to fit in and exclude in 'The Last Night of Ballyhoo' Hoopskirt Hoopla: Debutante Lala (Tanya Shaffer, right), potential escort Peachy (Noel Wood) and Lala's mother, Boo (Sheila O'Neill Ellis) make much ado about the Ballyhoo cotillion. Metroactive Stage | 'The Last Night of Ballyhoo'
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