Take Me Out

[magid]

Last night I went to the BTW (and SpeakEasy and Broadway in Boston) production of Take Me Out (Richard Greenberg). It's about baseball, and coming out, and intolerance (along more than one axis), among other things (is that general enough to be spoiler-free?).

Though there have been other BTW productions dealing with gay issues (Another American Asking and Telling, for instance), this is the first time I've felt so noticeably in the minority; there was only a handful of women in the sold-out audience. I don't know whether this performance was anomalous or representative, however. In any case, the run has been extended to July 2, so it's popular enough.

I think this is also the first show I've seen where there are fully functioning showers onstage some of the time, which of course meant showering people. Well, men people, only. I wasn't as surprised as I might've been (an orker had mentioned it). I did wonder how hot the stage lights were, though, since I felt rather chilly in the theater, and I was dry and clothed.

My favorite character was the accountant/manager, who had a lot of great lines, due to his tendency to overanalyze (baseball as metaphor for life, in many ways). The actor who played him did an excellent job, with all the exaggerated expressions working beautifully. The other actor who stood out for me was the hick; it was a hard role, and he did it well. The others ranged from good to merely ok, though some of that is tempered by not knowing Spanish or Japanese.

The set, lights, and sound worked extremely well together; I was impressed with all of them. And I look forward to seeing more plays at the Calderwood Pavilion; the staff was very professional.

Comments

[pinkfish.livejournal.com]

We have tickets to see that tomorrow evening, an outing organized by two lesbians. I have to say, I can't imagine what gay women would find interesting in a show that advertises full-frontal male nudity, but hey, that's their problem.

Given the reasons why I am going to this show, I can't imagine anything you could tell me about the plot that would spoil it.

[spwebdesign.livejournal.com]

I did wonder how hot the stage lights were, though, since I felt rather chilly in the theater, and I was dry and clothed.

I'm sure the showers were a blessed relief for those under the stage lights. I've never known a stage that wasn't exceedingly warm!

[magid.livejournal.com]

Heh. Plot isn't necessarily why people are going, but it's a well-scripted show, even so.

(I await your after-show opinions :-)

[magid.livejournal.com]

I suspected that was the answer, though since the stage is not delineated from the audience by a curtain (and the step up was small), I wasn't sure how much it functioned as one space. Hm. I wonder if the AC was on so high to keep the actors cooler, then?

[jwg.livejournal.com]

I like theatre with a touch of homey reality like the working showers in Take Me Out.

I remember a King Lear at the ART in Cambridge that had a pipe quite a few feet over the stage with water pouring out through it into a bathtub. I don't remember the context.

Also once at the Gloucester Stage Company (http://www.gloucesterstage.com) there was a huge pile of dirt on the stage with a bed of marigolds growing that were watered and tended to during the play.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I like details like that, too, though I don't usually end up at shows with that sort of budget...