Pittsburgh, PA: barebones productions
February 28 to March 9, 2008
  

BLUE JAYS STEP UP TO THE PLATE
By Mark Kari

January, 2005. With an increasing number of MLB teams hosting Gay & Lesbian community days, it seems natural that teams may start reaching out to the community in other ways. Some, like the Florida Marlins and Chicago Cubs, have advertised extensively in gay media. In Toronto, the Blue Jays (and parent company Rogers Communications) have sponsored a recent production of the gay-themed baseball play Take Me Out.

When I asked Rob Godfrey, Senior VP, Communications & External Relations, for the Blue Jays, he said that it was a smart business decision. He acknowledges that sports teams are "competing for consumer dollars with Arts organizations" and other forms of entertainment, and sponsoring Arts events can help them tap into potential fans. And he also said that, "having a vibrant Arts and sports community is beneficial for tourism (in Toronto), and that helps everyone."

CanStage, the company that produced the Toronto production, agrees. "We saw an excellent fit between Take Me Out and the wider audience that the Jays are trying to attract," said Christine Berg, Audience Development Coordinator. For CanStage, Take Me Out furthered their goal of having "our plays AND our audiences be reflective of, and speak to, the amazing diversity of all Canadians."

I'm told that the play attracted a lot of gay men (and baseball fans), but was also appealing to non-gays and non-baseball theatre fans. Having attended a 'theatre club' meeting with some CanStage subscribers, I can report that people of all ages, gender, sexuality, and sports interest, were challenged and entertained by Take Me Out.

Although no Blue Jay players or front office executives (that I am aware of) came out (so to speak) to attend the play, the Jays organization did advertise in the program ('Come Out February 26! Our box office opens!') and are having a draw for free tickets.

Last year the Jays held their first Pride Day, and have already set a date for this year's Pride event, to be held during Toronto's Pride Week.

I think the team should be applauded for their positive stance and their support of their gay fans. While some may be wary, both Rob Godfrey and Paul Godfrey, President & CEO, Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club, have told me that it is a "non-issue."

Speaking as a gay baseball fan, that's a home run in my book.

ARTICLE: National Post, January 17, 2005
The fictional search for a gay Jackie Robinson
Take Me Out looks at an unexplored side of sports heroes

R E V I E W:
CanStage production of Take Me Out
Toronto, January 10 - February 12, 2005
by Mark Kari

That there are gay professional athletes is a given. And after some initial problems gay people will be accepted in the sports world just as they have been accepted in other occupations. But what is best revealed in the play Take Me Out is not the acceptance or travails of a gay player in baseball (as one might have imagined), but how a gay man--indifferent to sports--can come to love the game of baseball.

Yes, there are plenty of gay baseball fans already. Heck, I'm one of them. But let's face it: gay male life does not revolve around sports the way straight male life does. I mean, how many gay sports bars do you know of?

Take Me Out opens with player/narrator Kippy Sunderstrom revealing that the Empires' superstar centre fielder has come out as gay during mid-season. Strangely, the coming out scene is not shown, nor do we know what the team chemistry was like before the relevation--we only see what comes after the 'outing.' At times these un-seen scenes can be frustrating, as one suspects it would be more interesting to see something than hear someone tell you about it.

The plot, for what it's worth, involving Lemming's married best friend (on a rival team) being beaned by a hick racist pitcher who clashes with Lemming, and the authorship of a public letter of apology, is uncompelling and unclear.

In the showers and the locker room sexual tension arises where once there was innocence. This is effectively demonstrated by having the actors appear on stage naked in a shower scene. This causes some discomfort and nervous giggles from the audience. Are we to view these people like the guys we see (and barely notice) at the gym? Or as sexual beings--wet, naked men.

The gay player, Darren Lemming, has an off-putting arrogance--one almost expects him to talk about himself in the third person, as some athletes are wont to do. He develops a friendship with his new financial adviser, the nebbishy Mason Marzac. They come to see each other as kindred spirits--both have few freinds and both feel outcast from the gay community: Marzac because he's "below it," and Lemming because he's "above it."

Despite his insecurities, Marzac becomes the uplifting spirit of the play. His transformation from an insecure gay man to one who confidently embraces the joy of baseball, drives us emotionally. He changes, and his newfound love of the game and his acceptance of himself is cathartic. To have that giddy excitement that Mason--wonderfully played by David Storch, on both a physical and emotional level--feels, is liberating, and what lifts an otherwise error-prone play into a surprising victory.

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