Take Me Out

Reviewed by Holly Bartges

Curious Theatre Company winds up its seventh season with the blockbuster Take Me Out written by playwright Richard Greenberg. Honored with the 2003 Tony Award for Best New Play, Curious Theatre was honored to give Take me Out its Colorado premiere.

Tyee Tilghman plays out baseball player Darren in Take Me Out by Curious Theatre Company. Photo by Michael Ensminger

Saturated with nudity, strong adult language, Take Me Out pushes behind the public ball field into the locker room and showers of the Empires, defending their National League title.

There is no breaking news to the fact I am not a baseball fan. I do understand the terminology, and I certainly know what a home run is. No question. This production definitely is a home run, knocking the ball clear into the next county.

Twisting knock down drag out humor with cutting edge seriousness, Take Me Out sends one fly ball out of the park again and again and again.

Under the direction of Producing Artistic Director Chip Walton, Take Me Out climbs to the top of the list for best plays produced by Curious Theatre. With a diverse cast from the very experienced to first timers on stage, Walton molded the energy of the entire cast to fill the theatre from floor to ceiling with baseball intrigue, anticipation, and breath holding hard ball antics.

He’s a national treasure, the highest paid player in the league, and for whatever reason decided to announce to the world he was gay. Played in totality by Tyee Tilghman, Darren doesn’t seem to have a chip on his shoulder, doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone, just wants everyone to know he is gay.

This play doesn’t seem to concern itself with a gay man in sports, as it does with the traditional uneducated nervous mythology from players. Although Darren doesn’t seem to know what he wants besides flirting with the idea of quitting baseball, his strike-out announcement sends several characters grappling with their own identity, keeping the steam rolling right out of the showers cleverly situated on stage by set designer Daniel Guyette.

Greenberg peppers his script with large doses of humor trusting the audience will catch the fly balls of seriousness at the same time. Through conscientious direction, the cast strategically balances the zingers with the laughter.

To make sense out of the various aspects feeding into Darren’s confused decision and nervous team mates, Leigh Miller comfortably climbs into the character of teammate, Kippy, who strings the time defying events into rhyme and reason. With his own humor sliding into place with definite timing, Kippy maintains an objective stance giving the audience opportunity to sort through the hardball reactive fears plaguing everyone.

John M. Jurcheck molds the character of Shane into a dopey tragic comic. Joining the team as a relief pitcher, he understands the scheme of throwing a ball; communicating is another matter. Grunts and mutters are what seem important to him. By is own admission; Shane says, “I’m just a dumb kid. The onliest thing I can do is throw.” When he ends up on a TV interview, his mouth becomes uncorked, making blanket statements confusing even him. For his unthinking, unchecked comments Shane ends up suspended. A master of comedic timing and body language, Jurcheck provides the impetus for many giggles.

Darren has a problem if Shane is allowed to return to the game. Not because of the gay bashing comments, but the racist slurs.

Kurt Soderstrum plays the hard-nosed, we-need-to-win-at-all-costs manager, Skipper, whose ears are focused on the scores, blocking out communication with his players.

Erik Sandvoid, also a master of comedic, timing flirts with jealousy over Darren’s best friend, Davey played by David Pinckney who shapes the major league ball player on an opposing team as a staunch family man enveloped with a Bible sanitized demeanor.

Because of the shower scenes, nudity plays a major role for the cast, but the issues surrounding the characters bringing them together, pulling them apart, tantalizing and tormenting them upstages the stripped bare cast.

Because of the script, because of the astute direction, because of the high rolling energy, because of the competent cast, because of the issues, because of the hidden agendas, and stark naked agendas, Curious Theatre Company ends its seventh season with its finest production ever.