Take me out: a play worth extra bases.(Theater Review)

When Daniel Sunjata spits, digs in and wiggles his bat, it's easy to forget he's an actor on Broadway, not the next Ken Griffey Jr. Sunjata plays Darren Lemming, the New York Empires center fielder who announces he's gay in Richard Greenberg's Take Me Out.

Take Me Out debuted in London last summer, about the same time a high-profile New York baseball player was holding a press conference to discuss his sexual preference. Opening last week on Broadway, this show truly captures The Show--although MLB must wish it had the superb cast's parity of talent and the snappy pace of Greenberg's witty dialogue. (A personal favorite: the anti-DH comment about the "debased American League.")

Lemming is described as a five-tool player who makes people "suspect there's a sixth tool only he had" and Sunjata perfectly embodies a great athlete's grace and swagger, even his inner emptiness. When narrator and shortstop Kippy Sunderstrom says the controversy makes Lemming less godlike and more human, Lemming sneers, "Isn't that a demotion?"

Greenberg even does well by rookie closer Shane Mungitt, whose racism and homophobia drive the story. Mungitt is even more venal than John Rocker, yet Greenberg imbues him with a nuanced humanity the media stripped from Rocker. The play even nails the isolation of foreign players. (Only the manager is a pointless cliche.)

The plot falters with its climactic contrivances, and the numerous nude shower scenes may turn off some, but the play stirs emotions on issues ranging from friendship to trust to hero worship. Score Take Me Out a stand-up double--it doesn't quite hit the ball out of the park, but it provides plenty to cheer about.

 
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