Bronx Bombers
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Cititour.com Review
The 2013 season may be over for the New York Yankees, but fans of the boys in pinstripes can still get their fix thanks to Eric Simonson’s “Bronx Bombers,” now playing at Broadway’s Circle in the Square. As with his previous sports-themed plays, “Lombardi” and “Magic/Bird,” Simonson exhibits an extraordinary passion for his subject, as well as a treasure trove of trivia and knowledge about the famed baseball team. But once again, the show is more of a solid double dramatically than a home run.
In actuality, the first third of “Bronx Bombers” seems like a dynamite set-up for a full two-hour play. We’re in a Boston hotel room the morning after the still-infamous 1977 incident in which manager Billy Martin (Keith Nobbs) ejected star outfielder Reggie Jackson (Francois Battiste) mid-game because he felt Jackson hadn’t hustled enough in the field. Trying to make peace between the volatile Martin and the egotistical Jackson is coach and former Yankee Yogi Berra (the excellent Peter Scolari). He’s also summoned Yankee captain Thurman Munson (Bill Dawes) to the pow-wow, even though there’s little love lost between Jackson and Munson (who would die tragically in a plane crash just weeks later).
During this often-heated exchange, Simonson (who is also the show’s director) deftly explores the interpersonal dynamics between these disparate personalities, as well as gives some insight to how racism still played some role in baseball in the 1970s. While Battiste doesn’t physically resemble Jackson, this fine actor is particularly effective in capturing Jackson’s swagger and self-absorption. The tension when he walks into the room is palpable.
Sadly, that tension dissipates when Berra returns home to his wife Carmen (Tracy Shayne, the real-life Mrs. Scolari) for a sweet if rather dull scene that, nonetheless, gives us a glimpse to the couple’s long-standing marrriage. (In fact, the most interesting thing in the scene is how set designer Beowulf Boritt gets the couple’s bed onto the stage)
Fortunately, things pick up in act two as the troubled Berra has a dream in which he summons up many of the Yankee greats, including the boisterous Babe Ruth (a very good C.J. Wilson), an alternately feisty and melancholy Mickey Mantle (the blustery Dawes), the reserved Joe DiMaggio (a suave-looking Chris Henry Coffey), as well as Elston Howard (Battiste), Lou Gehrig (a nicely understated John Wernke), and Derek Jeter (a low-key, but effective Christopher Jackson), for a special dinner. But since the guests don’t know why they’re there (and in some sense, neither do we), the overlong scene lacks some needed focus as the group mostly trades insults, offer up factoids about their careers, and take a stroll down memory lane.
To his credit, Simonson wraps his fantasia up somewhat more smoothly with a touching coda set at the last game in the old Yankee Stadium in September 2008, which is sure to bring a tear to the eye of true fans. So just as there’s hope that the Yankees will win another World Series in 2014, perhaps Simonson will eventually pen a truly satisfying play about the world he clearly loves.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://www.bronxbombersplay.com/
Cast
Peter Scolari, Francois Battiste, Chris Henry Coffery, Bill Dawes, Christopher Jackson, Keith Nobbs, Tracy Shayne, John Wernke, C.J. Wilson
Open/Close Dates
Opening 2/6/2014
Closing 3/2/2014
Preview Open/ Preview Close Dates
Preview Opening 1/9/2014
Closing Open-ended
Box Office
212-239-6200
Theatre Info
Circle in the Square
235 West 50th Street
New York, NY 10019
Map
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