Peppermint Creek proves that a long, talky show can still mesmerize and entrance an audience. Their compelling production of Richard Greenberg's Take Me Out is an excellent ensemble performance with truly outstanding individual performances.

Take Me Out is the story of a superstar baseball player who reveals his homosexuality with little concern that it will affect his untouchable celebrity status. Instead, he encounters very human reactions, of which he finds compassion the most difficult to endure. Then a pitcher is brought up from the minor leagues who disrupts the team with his bigotry.

Each of the actors shows great commitment to his role and it is easy to forget that they are acting. The show's production values provide tremendous support with authentic baseball uniforms and other costumes and a set that includes smoothly sliding lockers and six working showers. It is truly one of the most functional sets of the season.

Jordan Wills as Shane Mungitt never allows viewers to write him off as an aberration but rather forces the question of whether he is willfully ignorant or mentally deficient. Wills intricately creates this character with his every expression, movement, and vocal intonation.

Equally passionate in their roles were Matthew Alfano as the superstar baseball player and his team buddy, Max Lund. Alfano portrayed the untouchable superstar who started out mostly bemused. His transformation took him through a wide range of intense emotions. Lund lured the audience into the show, attempting to put words and interpretations on all events and inviting an intimacy between the characters and the audience that were always beyond the grasp of the characters.

Louis Balestra also gave a standout performance as the flaming business manager who develops a passion for the game minus the usual macho trappings. He infused a lightness to an otherwise heavy show.

Director Chad Badgero choreographed complex blocking that told the story and defined the theme. He created distance that underscored the isolation of the characters, a distance that was broken most often when the characters were most at odds with one another.

This is a show that really will take you out of your seats and into the locker-room world of a team struggling against loneliness and disconnection.


Recommended: Yes