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"Take Me Out" Hits the Strike Zone By
Byron McCrae "Take Me Out" imagines what might happen if the world’s best baseball player woke up one morning and announced that he’s gay. That’s pretty much what character Darren Lemming does, and the consequences of his decision to come out range from hysterical and poignant to melodramatic and, eventually, hopeful. Along the way, playwright Richard Greenberg manages to address sexuality, baseball, and much, much more in this ambitious but entertaining production. The story goes something like this: Darren Lemming (Daniel Sunjata) is a bi-racial baseball player who is at the top of his game, and he’s got all the swagger and bravado that you might expect from a major sports celebrity. When he comes out, it’s much to the surprise of his teammates and team leadership. Best friend Kippy Sunderstrom (Neal Huff) is immediately supportive, but the responses from other teammates range from foolish or sophomoric to just simple. A memorable scene full of laughs: Toddy Koovitz’s (David Eigenberg) angry, naked confrontation in the first act.
The comedy and drama surrounding Darren, the “gay ball player,” certainly drive the production, but the heart of story is really shared with at least two other characters: Mason, a.k.a. “Mars”, and Kippy, who narrates the tale as we go along. After becoming Lemming’s business manager, Mason “Mars” Marzac becomes obsessed with baseball. Well, not as much obsessed as enamored. Mars develops a love for everything about the sport: its numbers, its rules, its rituals. His material is some of the funniest in the play, and it’s primarily about … baseball. Not that he’s making fun of the sport. His read is just so dramatic and his enthusiasm for baseball is just so infectious it’s hard not to enjoy his time on stage. By coming out, Darren introduces a whole new world Mars, and the two men forge a connection more solid than just being gay, or being part of “the community.” They share baseball. Similarly, but inversely, Darren’s coming out seems to rob his teammates of something just as important: fraternity. In a shower scene (yes a shower scene, and yes, all of the actors are naked, even “Steve” from "Sex in the City"), Kippy Sunderstrom, Darren’s best friend on the team, bemoans the absence of a sense of camaraderie that existed back before Lemming came out. Gone are the hugs, the friendly slaps on the backside. No one even looks each other in the eye anymore. That’s what homophobia does. It changes how straight men interact with each other. Thankfully, there are those who buck against rigid gender stereotyping, like Jason (Kohl Sudduth), the dim-witted but caring catcher. Kippy, still, is the quintessential SNAG (Sensitive New-Age Guy). He daydreams about Darren bringing a partner over to meet the wife and kids. He befriends a new player who is rough around the edges, and seeks to make peace once the new guy really makes a mess of things (twice). He gets the difference between being called “colored” and calling yourself a person of color. He speaks several languages fluently. Portrayed convincingly and accessibly by actor Neal Huff, Kippy is the straight friend we all wish we had (or find ourselves lucky to have). Huff, as Kippy, and O’Hare, as Mars, steal the show. They develop immediate rapport with the audience and look like they’re clearly enjoying themselves. A wink here, a nod there, and we were charmed. And it’s not the least bit cloying. Director Joe Mantello is successful at keeping things briskly paced and using elements of the set to their fullest comedic or dramatic effect: the buzz and flash of the scoreboard and ballpark lights, the blocking and stage direction of the baseball action sequences, and…uh, the shower scene, which is staged front and center. The script is sharp and literate. There are a few inside jokes about baseball, and more than a few barbs hurled at the gay community. Overall, the production is imaginative, provocative, and engaging. "Take Me Out" may be a bit idealistic, but it is nonetheless witty and, in many ways, right on the mark. Darren’s sexual identity becomes something of a non-issue in the play, or at least not the issue we’d expect it to be. I think that’s a good thing. In fact, when an active, major professional athlete finally does decide to come out, we should all hope it to be a case of life imitating art. "Take Me Out" is playing at the Walter Kerr Theater on Broadway. Click here for ticket information. |
The first
half is very entertaining, and ends with the arrival of Shane
Mungitt (Frederick Weller), a recruit from Utica’s farm team
who wears a nasty mullet and is as ugly as his name sounds
(well, not really…every man in the cast is a looker).