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Human Race gets to third base
The last time The Human Race Theatre Company put on a baseball play, it included naked ballplayers taking showers.
That was Richard Greenberg’s “Take Me Out” in 2007.
“Rounding Third,” which opens Friday, March 12, at The Loft, after a final preview performance on Thursday, May 11, isn’t like that, although it does contain some salty language.
As one critic put it, “Rounding Third” “is ‘The Odd Couple’ with a baseball theme.”
The comedy by Richard Dresser has been around for a few years, but the production in the Eichelberger Loft Series marks the local premiere.
Actor-director Tim Lile, who’s an auctioneer for his day job, is staging the two-man play about two very different dads and youth baseball coaches.
One is from the win-at-all-costs school of coaching. The other believes everyone deserves a trophy for participating.
Just picture them trying to run the same team together.
Jake Lockwood plays head coach Don, whose collar is blue, chosen drink is beer and vehicle is a full-size van. His son is the team’s star.
Brian McKnight plays Michael, who’s Canadian, knows more about curling than about baseball, is nurturing, undemanding and the father of a nice kid whose athletic skill is either dormant or nonexistent. He wears a suit and likes latte.
Both men evolve as the season progresses, which is not to say that Michael ever figures out how to get all of the equipment back into the bag. How they change and how that changes the dynamics between them is half of the appeal.
At right: Brian McKnight (top) and Jake Lockwood as dads and coaches
“ ‘Rounding Third’ isn’t very well known, but the combination of the subject matter and the talents of these two performers should make this a special treat for Dayton audiences,” Lile said.
The primary challenge for him, as a director, “has to do with the fact that it is a two-person play and the need to vary the flow and energy.”
The play’s run will include a special “Saturday Baseball Matinee” at 2 p.m. March 27, featuring special incentives for baseball and softball coaches, umpires, players (13 and over) and fans who wear team jerseys or other gear.
how to go
What: The Human Race Theatre presents “Rounding Third”
When: March 12-28.
Where: The Loft, 126 N. Main St., Dayton
Tickets: $15.50-$36.
Call: (937) 228-3630, toll free at (888) 228-3630 or online at www.ticketcenterstage.com
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May 2, 2010 7:03 PM | Link to this
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