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National Pastime
By Joseph Feinstein
"He turned out to be not only a great baseball player but a real humanitarian and a significant social progressivist," was the way Jed Reynolds described the great Brooklyn Dodger, Jackie Robinson, the man he plays in the sensational new play, National Pastime which opened at the Fremont Centre Theatre on March 19 for a six-week run.
The play, beautifully written by Bryan Harnetiaux and directed so caringly by James Reynolds, brings together a cast of fifteen well-polished, highly motivated actors to tell the moving story of the first black player to crash into major league baseball. It chronicles his heartaches and his struggles to keep directed on the game and not the abuse, insults, or name calling heaped upon him.
The cast is splendid. Frank Ashmore plays Branch Rickey, the real guts behind the scenes concerning his decision to break the color lines of segregation by bringing Robinson into the Dodgers. In one of the most powerful, visceral scenes ever written, he recreates the passion, angst, and discipline so necessary to help young Robinson make the needed transition. He showed the psychological, mental, and emotional skills he would have to bring to the forefront to withstand the abuse from the team, the crowd, and the world. It is a fifteen-minute gem that, alone, will keep you glued to your seat.
Mama Mallie Robinson, as played by Luise Heath, is everything the woman probably was: prayerful, wise, short of temper, and long of words. She is the devoted mother who spurs her son on to college and the fulfillment of his dreams. Denise Boutte brings to Rachel, Robinson's girl friend and wife, a sophistication and calm amidst the stress this baseball pioneer suffered during his ascension in baseball. She is radiant and creates a character with whom the audience associates and sympathizes...so necessary for a part such as this.
All the other principals and secondary characters are very strong in their moments on stage. Somehow, it's Jed Reynolds as Robinson who doesn't have the equivalent pizzaz of the others. The program notes tell us this is his "first appearance on stage at the Fremont Theatre." Jed's acting experience was at UC Santa Barbara. With all the experienced talent surrounding him, it will only be a matter of time before he acquits himself even more strongly than he did in this, the second performance of the play. After all, he is the director's son.
The playwright, Mr. Harnetiaux, writes with a deft hand and, amidst the raucous, heavy moments of the play, peppers the script with humor. Rickey asks Robinson when he unexpectedly appears in his office, "How'd you get here?" Robinson answers, "I told them I was your chauffeur!" Robinson, upon first meeting Rachel, a nurse whom he would later marry, "You'd be the kind of nurse that would make a man want to be sick!" Rickey's suggestion to Robinson that "If you're running on anger, you're running on the wrong fuel! You can't play deaf, you must be deaf!" offers sound, intelligent advice amidst the raging storm his entry into baseball created.
This is a one-set play with announcer Red Barber (Vaughan Armstrong) on one high pedestal; columnist for The Pittsburgh Courier, Wendell Smith (Ted Lange), on an opposite pedestal, and all the other action is below, on stage. It works very well due to expert lighting design by Carol Doehring. Casting director Fran Bascom could not have done any better for she has assembled an excellent cast. Director James Reynolds adds strength and sensitivity, making this a play you will long remember. He guides the scenes with Rickey most adroitly toward an outstanding performance, which should win honors at awards time! National Pastime is a grand-slam homer!
National Pastime, at Fremont Centre Theatre, 1000 Fremont Ave. (at El Centro), So. Pasadena. 626-441-5977. Fri. & Sat. @ 8:00 PM, Sun. @ 2:30. Tickets $17 senior; $20 Gen. Admission.
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