Take Me Out (play): Difference between revisions

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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 mixed-race 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'Hare (Tony Award)
Darren Lemming: Daniel Sunjata (Theatre World 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 Theatre in San Diego, California 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 staged a production of the play from 13 May - 12 June 2005, directed by James J. Christy.

Darren Lemming: Jacques Cowart II
Shane Mungit: Josh Shirley
Kippy Sunderstrom: David Whalen
Mason Marzac: Kraig Swartz
Martinez: Armando Batista
Takeshi Kawabata: James Chen
Jason Chenier: Todd Gebhart
Davey Battle: Nathan Hinton
Toddy Koovitz: John Lumia
Skipper/William R. Danziger: Tom McCarthy

Albuquerque, 2005

Troop 147 staged the first non-profit production of the play from June 8- 31 2005, directed by Brandon Scott Jensen.

Darren Lemming: Jesse Siebach
Shane Mungit: Justin Young
Kippy Sunderstrom: Andrew Corbell
Mason Marzac: Will Klundt
Martinez: Mateo Sarria
Rodriguez: Manuel Villalobos
Takeshi Kawabata: Brandon Pratt
Jason Chenier: Jeff Andersen
Davey Battle: Andy Brooks
Toddy Koovitz: Yannig Morin
Skipper/William R. Danziger: Mark Guest

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

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 :''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]].
+'''''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 [[mixed-race]] 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 [[Tragedy|tragic]] consequences.
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 == 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]].
+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 theatre|Broadway]] where it ran 355 performances and garnered a Tony Award.