A & E

Richard Greenberg's play "Take Me Out" makes the idea meaningful even to those of us who know nothing about the sport.

Thanks to David Whalen's tightly focused directing and the natural performances of a dynamic cast of talented professionals, it's also a highly entertaining and engaging evening of theater that's both smart and funny.

There's also an abundance of profanity and nudity, which will be offensive to some. But it's integral to the play's central themes and actions.

Greenberg's play concerns Darren Lemming, a young, attractive, intelligent and well-liked African-American baseball superstar on a winning major league team. Amiable but somewhat arrogant and not a little naive, he throws his life and those of his teammates into turmoil when he unexpectedly announces that he is gay.

He thinks he's untouchable and that as long as he plays well his personal life is irrelevant. He's wrong, of course.

Like Adam and Eve, when the team's Eden is destroyed, everyone starts thinking about fig leaves.

Suddenly, every casual sentence between the teammates is examined for subtext. A casual pat on the shoulder and everyday locker room nudity create awkwardness.

That's tellingly shown in the shower room scenes where everyone is naked and vulnerable and a dropped bar of soap brings the action to an abrupt halt.

The team's winning streak evaporates and a newly acquired, incredibly skillful pitcher, Shane, arrives. Tristan Farmer weaves him into a character who is complex -- mysterious, weird, offensive and yet, sympathetic.

When Shane unleashes a profusion of racial, sexual and ethnic slurs during an on-camera interview, events slide toward tragedy.

Even when Greenberg's play appeared on Broadway in 2003, it was clear that Greenberg was using baseball to talk about American politics.

It's even more apparent when we're in the middle of a national presidential election, especially when Christian Felix's Lemming shares a strong physical resemblance to the youth and charisma of one of the candidates. Felix shows him as self-impressed and justified in being so.

Greenberg's play makes a strong case about what happens when arguments about race, gender, religion and attitude cause us to lose sight of the larger issues that are of far greater relevance.

Only Kawabata, the Japanese ballplayer who speaks no English, escapes untouched.

His inability to understand the controversy and animosities allows him to concentrate on the task at hand -- playing baseball. Jeffrey Omura plays him with perfect detachment and a touch of disdain.

Patrick Jordan's Kippy serves gracefully as the play's narrator, Lemming's best friend on the team and a guy interpreting the story from the distance of experience.

Jeffrey Carpenter diffuses some of the tension and gets many of Greenberg's points across as Toddy, the team's most dim-witted player.

As Davey Battle, Joshua Elijah Reese sets events in motion as Lemming's friend who plays on an opposing team. He pays for his misguided but well-meaning actions without even understanding the part he played in them.

Jose Rivas and Joseph JJ Jackson contribute humor as the team's two Hispanic players, and Bingo O'Malley displays even-handed detachment as Skippy, the team's heard-it-all manager.

The beating heart of the show belongs to Tom Aulino, in a delightful performance as Mason, Lemming's investment counselor who transforms into a gleeful fan. His impassioned but rational mid-show speech compares baseball to democracy and concludes that in some ways it might be superior.

• Most Read
• Most E-mailed
• Latest News