Johnny Baseball

Johnny Baseball: The New Red Sox Musical is a musical with a book by Richard Dresser and a score by brothers Robert Reale and Willie Reale. The story involves circumstances relating to the Curse of the Bambino. The musical had a preview run in Massachusetts that began on May 14, 2010.[1] The musical's world premiere was on June 2, 2010 at the Loeb Drama Center of the American Repertory Theater.[2]

Johnny Baseball
The New Red Sox Musical
Logo
MusicRobert Reale
LyricsWillie Reale
BookRichard Dresser
BasisThe Boston Red Sox
Productions2010 Cambridge

Synopsis

Originally called Red Sox Nation, Johnny Baseball was conceived after the Red Sox's stunning collapse in the 2003 playoffs due to the "Curse", which is often cited as a reason for the failure of the Boston Red Sox baseball team to win the World Series in the 86-year period from 1918 until 2004.[3][4]

The Curse is traced to the interactions of three people: the fictional Johnny O'Brien, a hard-luck right-hander on the 1919 Red Sox; his idol, Babe Ruth; and O'Brien's love interest, Daisy Wyatt, an African American blues singer. The show is told through flashbacks between the fourth game of the 2004 American League Championship Series and the fictional life of Johnny O'Brien. The musical ends with David Ortiz ending the Curse in 2004.

Original production numbers

Source: CurtainUp,[2] UMaine program

Production history

The premiere production was staged at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[5] The cast featured Colin Donnell as the fictional character Johnny O'Brien, Stephanie Umoh as the fictional character Daisy Wyatt, Burke Moses as Babe Ruth, Charl Brown as Tim, and Jeff Brooks as Tom Yawkey.[4]

The creative team included direction by Diane Paulus, choreography by Peter Pucci, orchestrations by Wendy Bobbitt Cavett, costumes by Michael McDonald, sets by Scott Pask, and lighting by Donald Holder.[5] This production played from June 2, 2010 to July 11, 2010. Johnny Baseball was part of the theater's America: Boom, Bust and Baseball festival.[6]

It was next produced in August, 2012 by the University of Maine Summer Music Theatre Festival and Issaquah, Washington-based Village Theatre's Festival of New Musicals.[7]

After heavy rewrites, it was produced for the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Summer 2013.[8]

Awards and nominations

Elliot Norton Award[9]

Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Awards[10]
  • Best Musical (A.R.T.) Nominated
  • Best Director of a Musical (Diane Paulus) Nominated
  • Best Supporting Actor Musical (Burke Moses) Nominated
  • Best Actress Musical (Stephanie Umoh) Nominated
  • Best Young Performer (Erik March) Nominated

References
  1. Anderman, Joan. . "The Boston Globe". 2010-05-09.
  2. Switzky, Lawrence. "Johnny Baseball". CurtainUp. 2010-06-10.
  3. "Johnny Baseball - A New Musical about the Red Sox". americanrepertorytheater.org. 2010 Shows.
  4. Clay, Carolyn. "Bard in the USA" Archived 2009-09-12 at the Wayback Machine. The Boston Phoenix. 2009-12-09.
  5. Bacalzo, Dan. "Cast Set for A.R.T.'s Johnny Baseball Musical". Theater Mania. 2010-12-03.
  6. Rothstein, Mervyn. "The Boston Red Sox Sing" Archived 2010-06-18 at the Wayback Machine. Playbill. 2010-05-14.
  7. Adams, Allen (August 1, 2012). "Johnny Baseball steps to the plate in Orono". The Maine Edge.
  8. Aucoin, Don (July 20, 2013). "'Johnny Baseball' team steps to the plate again". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  9. "Diane Paulus, Hotel Nepenthe, Ruined, Hair, Doug Elkins Among Winners of Boston's Norton Awards" Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, May 24, 2011.
  10. Hetrick, Adam (April 26, 2011). "Rachel York, Daniel Jenkins, Estelle Parsons and Kenny Leon Win IRNE Awards". Playbill.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
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