Word: bullpens
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Early on, the audience has no problem pegging the players, as if they have come from an ex-jock's "as told to" book. The second-string catcher, named Boomer, is divorced by his wife during the game over the bullpen phone. He, by the way, is played by Peter Fox '72, an alumnus of the Hasty Pudding Theatrical Society. The pitching corps consists of Frito (Bobby DiCicco), a Bruce Springsteen-loving Hispanic; Duke (Wesley Thompson), a self-proclaimed persecuted Black; Moose (Vince Lucchesi), an over-the-hill knuckler; Ripper (Artie Gerunda), a Harvard educated alcoholic; and Tank (Eddie Frierson...
Another problem is that Bullpen is a bit too authentic, and therefore is either a bit offensive or contains too much "shop talk." The language is really too vulgar and the crotch clutching too excessive. The inside baseball jokes often fly over or under the audiences' heads. Still the jokes are not so provincial that only Red Sox die-hards can be heard laughing. The fact that the play is about the Boston club bears little significance in the story...
...same time, this accuracy holds much of the play's charm. The players are believable as athletes, both in appearance and manner. Situated in the bullpen at Fenway Park, complete with green walls, the actors are fully clad in Red Sox uniforms. An especially nice touch is the plastering of bubble gum all over the bullpen. Each could pass for a ball player, and the lone-lefty, Ripper, conjures up images of Boston's beloved spaceman Bill...
...sports fan, the play strikes its highest marks with its hilarious observations of how players in the bullpen wile away many hours waiting to be called in on relief. This activity ranges from scoping girls and playing baseball trivia games to performing practical jokes and rough-housing. Among the funniest moments is when Frito calls Dave Winfield on the bullpen phone and pretends to be a police officer calling about a statuatory rape case involving the Yankee star...
...theater to Harvard Square makes it especially inviting for Summer School students, although the tickets are quite pricey ($14 Tuesday--Thursday evenings and Saturday, Sunday matinees; $17 Friday, Saturday evenings). Like the Sox pitching staff, this play is colorful and unpredictable, definitely worth a trip to the bullpen...