Thursday, January 27, 2011

Take Me Out


Much of the play is set in the locker room of a professional baseball team, and as such has an all-male cast and explores themes of homophobia, racism, class and masculinity in sport.
The play's main character, Darren Lemming (portrayed by
Daniel Sunjata), is a popular mixed-race baseball player at the peak of his career when he decides to come out. Several of his teammates react strongly (some supportive and accepting, and some not so accepting), and the drama plays out over the course of the baseball season with tragic consequences.
While
Glenn Burke was out to teammates and team owners in the 1970s and Billy Bean came out in 1999 after retiring from playing in Major League Baseball for eight seasons, at the time of the writing of this play no major-league baseball player had ever come out to the public during his career. This play is the dramatic exploration of what such an event might be like. Many believe the inspiration for Lemmings is American Major League Baseball player Derek Jeter.

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