Ballyhoo Play Essay, Research Paper

Ballyhoo is a play about a Jewish family in the south around Christmas. The play takes place in a house, mainly in one room, the family room. There are four people who live in the house. A working man who looks to be in his early fifties, his sister who is probably in her late forties, her daughter who is about twenty-one or so, and an aunt who?s husband has passed and her daughter is away at college, but coming home for Christmas.

Ballyhoo, the name of the play and the mail focus, is a week of celebrating for the upper class Jewish. On the last night of Ballyhoo is a dance which is a major event for the young adults, it?s a night to be seen. The play mostly revolves around the daughter, LaLa, finding a date for Ballyhoo. She has her mother, Boo, harping her to find a date, her uncle who does not pay too much attention to her, and her cousin who comes home for Christmas and already has a date, with a man that LaLa had wanted to have ask her. While all of this is going on there are other issues being intertwined. The issue of upper and lower class Jews, the fact that LaLa came home from college because she was not accepted to a sorority and is embarrassed, and the issues of love. The play shows the family going through all of these problems and how they handle them.

I found this play to be very interesting and it really held my attention. The actors were really into their rolls and did a very nice job of expressing their characters. With the costume design, the set design, the lighting, and the actors, it all fit together to create a really good production. The only thing I did not like about the play is that I did not see a point to it or some major excitement going on. The moral, I believe though, is about finding happiness and love through all of the bad things that life deals to you.

When I go to a play one if the major things I look for is if the actors are really into their characters and make their actions seem natural. The actors in this play did a very nice job of that. Each actor played such a different character that it was exciting to go from one person to another and listen to them talk, watching their facial expressions and the way they carried themselves. One thing that caught my eye was their faces. Compared to other plays I have seen, I had never seen such wonderful expressions. Usually I can look at the actor?s faces and tell that they are just saying the words and using their voices to set the tone, but when I watched the actor?s faces in this play I could tell how they felt without hearing their voice. It really sucked me into believing it was real and also keeping my attention. I could also see that the actors were well rehearsed and worked very well together. They had confidence and nice stage presence. Out of all of the actors/ characters, though, there was one who especially caught my attention, his name was Joe.

Joe worked for the bother, Uncle A, and ended up falling in love with the niece who was away at college. When Joe started to work for Uncle A, he was sent out on a business trip and had to check up Uncle A?s niece who was on her way home from college on a train. From Joe?s first appearance in the play he grabbed my eye. With the way he walked, the tone and volume of his voice, and the way he carried himself. I felt like I was watching a movie from the 1950?s. He had a dreamy look and feeling about him. I could not picture him out side of the play, he seemed to real of a character to be just an actor. Every time I looked at his face I saw that he was feeling what he was acting. I could tell that with the other actors, but it was larger with the character Joe. His character was such and all around good guy that every one liked, except aunt Boo, that you would want to meet some one like him. Even though he and the niece had their little fight, he still went to her an apologized for what had happened between the two of them. I was impressed with the character and the actor as well. It was a great performance by the actor.

Along with the actors of the play there are a few other things that go along with making a great performance, the lighting, the set design, and the costumes. These elements all work together to give off the atmosphere of the scene, the feeling, and the mood. They all work in a subconscious way that you may not notice of you did not look for it. Even the clothing of the cast can make you decide what kind of a person the character is or that they just stick in your mind from wearing a bright color.

When I first walked into the theatre I got a comfortable feeling from the set. It was a room with a couch and chairs. There was a small eating table off to the right with very dim lighting. To the left was a walk way to the front door and the stairway. You could not see the door but knew it was there because people entered and exited there. You could only see the bottom steps of the stairs, so you knew they were there. At the front left of the stage was a Christmas tree, a little too close to the audience for me, maybe to catch our eye a little easier so we would pay attention to it. And finally at the right front corner was a little desk where the telephone was. The majority of the play was in this set, it was a little boring, but the actors were really good so I did not really notice.

The set was only changed twice, for the train scene and the Ballyhoo dance, using only lights. This is how the lighting can be so important to a play. From simply dimming the background lights and putting a spot light on the two actors who were in a train, it really felt like they were in a train. There were a few sound affects used and a voice from the background calling out that the train was leaving. The rest was up to the actors and the lights. With lighting you can give all different types of affects, such as daytime and nighttime. When the back of the set was dim, you knew it was nighttime in the house. And when it was lighter you knew it day-

time.

But with the set design and the lighting, you still need some good costumes. The costumes in this play did not catch my eye until after I had finished watching the play and analyzed it in my head. A costume of a character can do a lot. It can tell you what kind of person the character is, how they feel, and maybe even what they have been through. At first you see Boo, her daughter LaLa, and the sister-in-law. Their costumes were subtle, yet I still got an impression. Boo was wearing a dress and an apron, this told me that she cooked a lot, did not take too much time to get ready because her hair was just pulled back, and she looked a little bitter. The sister-in-law was on the couch doing needlepoint. Her hair was all done up nicely and she had on a really nice dress. I could tell she did not have too much responsibility and kind of relied on other people. She was not too smart and very soft spoken, maybe the kind of person people walked all over. Then there was LaLa, she was something else. From her costume I could tell she was kind of a scatterbrain. Her clothes did not really match and she did not seem to care. She was loud and did not carry her self too well. Uncle A?s was wearing a suit and he looked put together well and liked to be organized. From the niece?s costume I could tell she was a person full of love and caring, wearing a plain skirt and a sweater, she was blah but still looked nice. And then Joe, he was in a very nice suit, it looked expensive and I could tell he cared about what he looked like. A nice man who was always concerned abut first impressions.

Altogether I would have to say that this was a really good play. With all of the elements put together, the actors, the costumes, the lighting, the scenery, and the small details, I was really impressed. It kept my attention and was glad I got to see it after it was over. I would have to say that I would also go see it again if I had the chance.