A Theater Review by Franklin W. Liu

Hearts and minds filtered through baseball’s realities in a theatrical examination of racism and homophobia, leading to a ballplayer’s death is “Take Me Out” a play by Richard Greenberg currently presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company and Boston Theatre Works in association with Broadway in Boston, at the Boston Center of the Arts.

Colorful baseball folklore fervently grips the American psyche from the game’s purported 1839 invention in Cooperstown, N.Y.,, to breaking the Bambino’s curse when the Boston Red Sox finally won the 2004 World Series title.

Greenberg steers this quintessential American pastime as an apt vehicle following a mulatto ballplayer’s personal journey facing racism and homophobia in the clubhouse and on the field.

In this 2003 Tony Award-winning, two-act play, Ricardo Walker plays Darren Lemming, a super-star ballplayer of a fictitious, defending world champion team “Empires.” Walker who is a relatively newcomer to stage, gave a laudable, energetic performance. The play pivots around him.   

In a locker room filled with butt-naked, macho jocks, Lemming is so cocksure of his own homosexuality that he privately notes: “There are two classes of men; those who are gay and those who are in denial.”

In this 2003 Tony Award-winning, two-act play, Ricardo Walker plays
Darren Lemming, a super-star ballplayer of a fictitious, defending
world champion team “Empires.” Walker who is a relatively newcomer to
stage, gave a laudable, energetic performance. The play pivots around
him.

In a locker room filled with butt-naked, macho jocks, Lemming is so
cocksure of his own homosexuality that he privately notes: “There are
two classes of men; those who are gay and those who are in denial.”

Even though Lemming was comfortable with his own sexual orientation, when he decided to come out, he found some his teammates, constrained by society’s prevailing prejudice, were revolted by his admission.

His gay lifestyle led to personal musings that in life, as in baseball, it is a number’s game. It seems that heterosexuals tend to have 3 kids and that baseball shall always stay a game of multiples of three’s: three strikeouts, nine innings.

Coming out is not Lemmings only dilemma. Having signed a contract for $106 million to play for 6 years, he tells his business manager he wants to seek out deeper meaning. Tired of the publicity-driven token, charitable-giving he declares, “I wanna give a shit about somethin’.”

Lemming’s somethin’ is to be a foundation for kids who are orphaned; kids who are under 10-years-old. Pausing momentarily, he clarifies: “Yes. Orphaned, gay kids who are under 10-years-old.

This outlandish remark even drew a bulgy-eyed gasp from his gay business manager, Mason Marzac. Marzac was played delightfully by Neil A. Casey, who had most of the hilarious lines bolstered by his hammy antics in the play.

Casey who looks like the twin of former Speaker of the House, Thomas M. Finnerin, gave a skillful performance with a Cupie Doll charm, providing intermittent levity, lifting the play’s serious theme grounded in social and racial bigotry.

Christopher Brophy plays a racist pitcher, Shane Mungitt, whose hardship in childhood made him a scrapper who would viciously bean ball a batter. Brophy played Mungitt with a measured performance, which created a surprising empathy for the out-of-control bigot.

Nathaniel McIntyre playing Kippy Sunderstrom, delivering a nuanced, duplicitous character as Lemming’s trusted friend and teammate, all the while serving as the play’s narrator.

Under Paul Daigneault’s well-rounded direction, the ensemble acting was well synchronized, showing lively stage movement.

The Eric Levenson set design was straightforward and effective.

Painted first and third base lines converge at home plate delineating wooden locker room benches placed at stage right and stage left, in front of open, free-standing shelving units where caps, bats and mitts rest as players’ uniforms drape from hooks.

Stainless steel frames form a see-through, latticework backdrop in alignment with showerheads above that when lowered and turned on, sprayed real water.

Keeping with the natural activities of a locker room, team members strip naked, lathered up to shower, showing post-game, casual, full frontal nudity, toweling their muscular bodies while engaging in stage business.

Like the shoemaker’s elves, while lights dimmed, stagehands moved quickly to flip open a sectional floorboard for the proper drainage of soapy water into floor grates into hidden containers below.

The script was naturalistic jock-talk, and at times terse with vulgarity. Neither the nudity nor the salty language appeared was a gratuitous display seeking shock value. 

Greenberg’s script was inspired by the tumultuous real life events of major league baseball running afoul of early, overt racism relegating black ballplayers to compete in a separate, Negro League and other humiliations.

The play’s reality has yet to face the final test. But, the warning tremors all point to the day when a current major leaguer will come out of the closet.

Glenn Lawrence Burke played outfield for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1977 World Series, who befriended manager Tommy Lasorda’s openly gay son, was the first major league ball player to acknowledge his homosexuality.

When Dodgers management failed at forcing a fake marriage on
Burke, they traded him to the Oakland Athletics.

In Oakland, Burke’s new manager held a press conference stating he did not want any homosexual in his clubhouse. Burke was released and quit baseball; He died of AIDS in 1995.

In 2002, New York Mets’ All-Star catcher Mike Piazza vehemently denied reports in the New York Post that he was gay in such as way that many found offensive. After all, he was not accused of a crime, what was the big deal?

Good theater reflects real-life, but sometimes it is the stage leads reality, so it is with “Take Me Out.”

Greenberg succeeds in making us see that life can be as challenging as trying to hit an elusive knuckleball. And for some among us, life is one, frustrating, long rain delay.

“Take Me Out” is at the Roberts Theatre until June 11. For more information call 617 933-8600.