OPEN TENT THEATER COMPANY PRESENTS: "THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO"

Uptown Manhattan has become a modern center for arts and culture. The newest addition to the Heights’ artistic community is Open Tent Theater Company, founded in January 2013 by Heights residents Giselle D’Souza and Sarah Medved. In mid-June, Open Tent will be presenting  their inaugural production, The Last Night Of Ballyhoo, a comedic and poignant play by Alfred Uhry, the Tony Award-winning playwright of Driving Miss Daisy.

D’Souza and Medved founded Open Tent Theater Company to provide increased opportunities for theatrical expression in the vibrant and diverse uptown community. D’Souza, an experienced performer and teaching artist, says “It can be challenging to be an actor in New York, so I decided it was time to take action and create opportunities for myself with people I enjoy working with.”

Medved, who recently completed her master’s degree in Educational Theatre and English from NYU Steinhardt, where she was able to develop her passion for theater with some of the best in the business, adds, “Another motivation for creating Open Tent was our desire to provide the community with thought-provoking, professional-quality theater events and productions. We named our company ‘Open Tent’ because we want to develop a welcoming and safe community where people of many different backgrounds can work together to create and enjoy theater.”

For their first full-scale production, Open Tent has partnered with the YM/YWHA of Washington Heights & Inwood. “The YM&YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood is very pleased to be presenting ‘Last Night of Ballyhoo’ by the Open Tent Theater Company” says Deborah Katznelson, Chief Social Services Officer at the Y. “This agency is dedicated to supporting the arts in the community and doing so by providing a venue for performers as well as visual artists to showcase their work. We look forward to seeing all our members and neighbors at the performances.”

This is just the latest instance in Open Tent’s developing partnership with the Y to create theater programming for the community. At the Y’s recent Earth Day celebration, Open Tent hosted a theater-inspired workshop, helping children create props from recycled materials and leading an interactive storytelling performance of Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree. Additionally, co-founder Giselle D’Souza runs a weekly theater program at the Y for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Past and ongoing independent events by Open Tent Theater Company include monthly ‘Improv Slams,’ where improv pros and novices alike come together to learn new techniques and hone their skills, and Open Mic Nights, where a diverse range of performers share their talents. In the future, Open Tent plans to extend their reach by offering additional artistic outlets for local performers with a diverse range of projects including musicals, straight plays, Shakespeare, original works, and special events.  D’Souza’s vision for the group includes creating “theater for the community, producing quality, consistent performances, workshops, and special events throughout the year in Washington Heights.”  Medved adds, “Both Giselle and I are teaching artists, so in the future, we’d love to create an educational wing to offer classes and shows for children and teens.”

The Last Night Of Ballyhoo is a bittersweet romantic comedy set in Atlanta in 1939, on the eve of WWII and the opening night of Gone With The Wind. The story follows the Freitag family as they anxiously prepare for Ballyhoo, the Jewish social event of the Christmas season. But with the arrival of a newcomer from Brooklyn, old rivalries and prejudices flare up like New Years’ fireworks. Alfred Uhry’s Tony Award-winning play examines issues of Jewish identity and intra-ethnic bias in the south, reminding us that sometimes the most deep-seated prejudices can be the hardest to see.

The Last Night Of Ballyhoo will be performed on Thursday, June 13^th at 7:30 pm, Sunday, June 16^th at 3 pm, and Wednesday, June 19^th at 7:30 pm at the YM/YWHA of Inwood & Washington Heights. Directed by Randy Topper and stage managed by Devorah Gabai, it features Bradshaw Call, Miriam Leah Droz, Giselle D’Souza, Ezriel Gelbfish, Rebecca Lopkin, Sarah Medved, and Joshua Saidlower.

For the full show schedule, more information about Open Tent Theater Company, and to purchase advance tickets for The Last Night of Ballyhoo, visit www.OpenTentTheater.com. If you would like to stay informed about future Open Tent events and productions, contact OpenTentTheater@gmail.com or find Open Tent Theater Company on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/OpenTentTheater.

For more information on drama and theater programming at the Y, contact Deborah Katznelson at DKatznelson@ywashhts.org or at (212)-569-6200 ext. 219.