Take Me Out (play)

This article is about the play. For other meanings, see Take Me Out (disambiguation).

Take Me Out is a Tony Award-winning play by Richard Greenberg which deals with homosexuality in baseball.

The play's main character, Darren Lemming, is a popular African American baseball player at the peak of his career when he decides to come out. Several of his teammates react strongly, and the drama plays out over the course of the baseball season with tragic consequences.

The play is set in a baseball locker room, and as such has an all-male cast and is usually produced with full-frontal male nudity.

The play explores themes of racism, homophobia, class and masculinity in sport. At the time of the writing of this play, no major-league baseball player had ever come out during his career, and this play is the dramatic exploration of what such an event might be like.

Awards

• Tony Award, Best Play, 2003
• Tony Award, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play (Denis O'Hare), 2003
• Tony Award, Best Direction of a Play (Joe Mantello), 2003

Productions

Premiere, 2002

The world premeiere of Take Me Out was preseneted in a co-production by The Donmar Warehouse, London and The Public/New York Shakespeare Festival.

Broadway, 2003

The Broadway premiere was at the Anspacher Theatre of the Joseph Papp Public Theater and later moved to the Walter Kerr on Broadway where it ran 355 performances and garnered a Tony Award.

• Produced by Carole Shorenstein Hays and Frederick De Mann
• Directed by Joe Mantello (Tony Award)
• Mason Marzac: Denis O'Hara (Tony Award)

San Francisco, 2004

Best of Broadway in San Francisco staged a production of the play in late 2004 and early 2005 at the Golden Gate Theater.

• Darren Lemming: Michael Walton
• Shane Mungit: Harlon George
• Skipper: Jack Davison
• Kippy Sunderland: Doug Wert

Toronto, 2005

The Canadian premiere was at the CanStage Bluma Appel theater in Toronto from 10 January to 12 February 2005. Given the subject matter of the play, it is notable that the production was sponsored by the Toronto Blue Jays.

• Directed by Morris Panych
• Darren Lemming: Thom Allison
• Jason Chenier: Harry Crane
• Rodriguez: Darrell Dennis
• Teddy Koovitz/Guard: Aaron Franks
• Skipper/William R. Danziger: Randy Hughson
• Davey Battle: Dion Johnstone
• Kippy Sunderstrom: Matthew MacFadzean
• Shane Mungitt: Mike Shara
• Mason Marzac: David Storch
• Takeshi Kawabata: Jovanni Sy
• Martinez: Andy Velaszquez

San Diego, 2005

The Old Globe Theater in San Diego staged a production of the play from 15 January - 20 February 2005, directed by Joe Mantello, with several members of the original Broadway cast.

• Mason Marzac: T. Scott Cunningham
• Skipper/William R. Danziger: Jack Davidson
• Martinez/Policeman: Ramon Fernandez
• Rodriguez/Policeman: Gene Gabriel
• Shane Mungitt: Harlon George
• Toddy Koovitz: Charlie Kevin
• Davey Battle: Charles Parnell
• Jason Chenier: Terrence Riordan
• Darren Lemming: M.D. Walton
• Kippy Sunderstrom: Doug Wert
• Takeshi Kawabata: Robert Wu

Philadelphia, 2005

The Philadelphia Theatre Company will stage a production of the play from 13 May - 12 June 2005, directed by James J. Christy.

Sources

• Performance, playbill from the 2005 Toronto production
• Playbill.com
• Talkin' Broadway review of Broadway production
• Talkin' Broadway review of San Francisco production
• Philadelphia Theatre Company
• San Diego - The Old Globe production
• Take Me Out, Paperback, 128 pages, Faber & Faber; 1st edition (August 6, 2003); ISBN 0571211186