Take Me Out (play)

Take Me Out
Written by Richard Greenberg
Characters Darren Lemming
Kippy Sunderstrom
Mason Marzac
Shane Mungitt
Davey Battle
Toddy Koovitz
Rodriguez
Martinez
Skipper
William R. Danziger
Jason Chenier
Takeshi Kawabata
Policemen
Date premiered 2002
Place premiered Donmar Warehouse
London, England
Original language English
Subject Homophobia, racism, and class in sport
Genre Drama
Setting A baseball locker room

Take Me Out is a 2002 play by American playwright Richard Greenberg originally staged by Donmar Warehouse, London, with The Public Theater. It premiered Off-Broadway on September 5, 2002, at the Joseph Papp Public Theater, and made its Broadway debut on February 27, 2003, at the Walter Kerr Theatre, where it ran 355 performances. It won the 2003 Tony Award for Best Play.

Plot

Much of the play is set in the locker room of a professional baseball team, and as such has an all-male cast that explores themes of homophobia, racism, class, and masculinity in sports.

The play's main character, Darren Lemming, is a popular and successful mixed-race baseball player at the peak of his career when he decides to come out. Several of his teammates react strongly (some supportive and accepting, and some not), and the drama plays out over the course of a baseball season with tragic consequences.

Background

While Glenn Burke was out to teammates and team owners in the 1970s and Billy Bean came out in 1999 after retiring from playing in Major League Baseball for eight seasons, at the time of the writing of this play no Major League Baseball player had ever come out to the public during his career. This play is the dramatic exploration of what such an event might be like.

Playwright Greenberg has stated that one of the compulsions for creating a baseball play was his complete immersion into the sport in 1999 after following the New York Yankees' (then-)record 114-win season the previous year, beginning with David Wells' perfect game.[1] Many believe the inspiration for Lemming is American Major League Baseball player Derek Jeter of the Yankees, and for racist pitcher Shane Mungitt, former National League pitcher John Rocker, then of the Atlanta Braves.[2][3][4]

Productions

Original London cast (2002)

Take Me Out ran at the Donmar Warehouse 20 June - 3 August 2002.[5][6]

Original Broadway cast (2003-2004)

The play ran at the Walter Kerr Theatre from 27 February 2003 to 4 January 2004.

Original Singapore Cast (2014)

Take Me Out was produced in Singapore by Tim Garner Productions.[7] The play opened on 8 January 2014 and ran until 16 January at the DBS Arts Centre, then moved to the Alliance Française Theatre from 18 January until 31 January.[8]

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

Year Award Ceremony Category Nominee Result
2003 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Play Won
Outstanding Actor in a Play Daniel Sunjata Won
Outstanding Director of a Play Joe Mantello Nominated
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Denis O'Hare Won
Frederick Weller Nominated
Outstanding Set Design Scott Pask Nominated
Outstanding Sound Design in a Play Janet Kalas Nominated
Outstanding Lighting Design Kevin Adams Nominated
Drama League Award Drama League Award for Distinguished Production of a Play Won
Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Play Won
New York Drama Critics' Circle Award Best Play Won
Pulitzer Prize Pulitzer Prize for Drama Finalist
Tony Award Best Play Won
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play Denis O'Hare Won
Daniel Sunjata Nominated
Best Direction of a Play Joe Mantello Won

References

  1. ↑ Drukman, Steven (October 2002). "Greenberg's Got Game". American Theatre.
  2. ↑ Robert Dominguez (2002-09-06). "He Leads the League in Controversy". Daily News. New York. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
  3. ↑ Brad Brantley (2003-02-28). "Love Affair With Baseball And a Lot of Big Ideas". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
  4. ↑ Ethan Stanislawski (2009-04-09). "The Top 10 Quotes from English-language Drama This Decade: 5-3". Tynan's Anger. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
  5. ↑ "Past Productions" donmarwarehouse.com
  6. ↑ Jones, Kenneth. "Original Take Me Out' Cast, Minus One, Will Transfer to Bway Run" playbill.com, December 23, 2002
  7. ↑ http://www.timgarnerproductions.com/
  8. ↑ Adam Hetrick (2014-01-08). "Tony-Winning Gay Baseball Drama Take Me Out Premieres in Singapore". Playbill.com. Retrieved 2014-01-12.

Further reading

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