Take Me Out (play)
| Take Me Out | |
|---|---|
| File:TakeMeOut.jpg | |
| 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.
Contents
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]
- Daniel Sunjata - Darren Lemming
- Neal Huff - Kippy Sunderstrom
- Denis O'Hare - Mason Marzac
- Frederick Weller - Shane Mungitt
- Kevin Carroll - Davey Battle
- Dominic Fumusa - Toddy Koovitz
- Gene Gabriel - Rodriguez/Policeman
- Robert M. Jimenez - Martinez/Policeman
- Joe Lisi - Skipper/William R. Danziger
- Kohl Sudduth - Jason Chenier
- James Yaegashi - Takeshi Kawabata
Original Broadway cast (2003-2004)
The play ran at the Walter Kerr Theatre from 27 February 2003 to 4 January 2004.
- Daniel Sunjata - Darren Lemming
- Neal Huff - Kippy Sunderstrom
- Denis O'Hare - Mason Marzac
- Frederick Weller - Shane Mungitt
- Kevin Carroll - Davey Battle
- David Eigenberg - Toddy Koovitz
- Gene Gabriel - Rodriguez/Policeman
- Robert M. Jimenez - Martinez/Policeman
- Joe Lisi - Skipper/William R. Danziger
- Kohl Sudduth- Jason Chenier
- James Yaegashi - Takeshi Kawabata
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]
- Juan Jackson - Darren Lemming
- Hayden Tee - Mason Marzac
- Tim Garner - Kippy Sunderstrom
- Chris Bucko - Shane Mungitt
- Paul Lucas - Skipper
- Seth Adams - Toddy Koovitz/Policeman
- Kynan Francis - Jason Chenier/Policeman
- Johnny James - Davey Battle
- Ren Robles - Rodriguez
- Jejie Esguerra - Martinez
- Hiro Mizuhara - Takeshi Kawabata
- William Ledbetter - William R. Danziger (voice)
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
- ↑ Drukman, Steven (October 2002). "Greenberg's Got Game". American Theatre.
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- ↑ "Past Productions" donmarwarehouse.com
- ↑ Jones, Kenneth. "Original Take Me Out' Cast, Minus One, Will Transfer to Bway Run" playbill.com, December 23, 2002
- ↑ http://www.timgarnerproductions.com/
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Further reading
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