Take Me Out: A Play | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard Greenberg
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy Used: $0.49
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Avg. Customer Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 433652
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.4
ISBN: 0571211186
Dewey Decimal Number: 812.54
EAN: 9780571211180
ASIN: 0571211186
Publication Date: August 6, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
“A funny and troubling look at athletes and identity . . . Take Me Out is a dynamic, involving play.” —Donald Lyons, New York Post
Darren Lemming is the star center fielder for the champion New York Empires. An extraordinary athlete, he fills both his fans and his teammates with awe at his abilities and his presence on the field and off. When he makes the matter-of-fact announcement that he’s gay, he throws his team into turmoil and confusion, while he also emboldens his closeted accountant, Mason Marzac, to come to terms with his own sexuality—and to fully experience the pure joy of watching great athletes play a sport as well as it can be played. But Darren’s announcement brings to the fore the confused and twisted hostilities of the Empires’ brilliantly talented but deeply racist and homophobic pitcher, Shane Mungitt—from whose rage tragic consequences ensue.
The American premiere of Take Me Out took place at the Public Theater in New York City in September 2002. It will move to the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway in February 2003.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 Attention, Please, Gay Jewish Baseball Fanatics! July 2, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Greenberg is an intriguing playwright, erudite, bright, urbane, witty...the superlatives go on and on. I have been a fan for years. He is unpredictable and worthy of our sustained attention. I didn't like this play, but I have loved others by him and you will, too. This play has one terrific virtue: it celebrates baseball, but more importantly, it celebrates the baseball convert. It is crucially about the intellectual guy, the nerd, the sissy, whatever, who comes to baseball late in life, who doesn't know the rules, the players, the history, the mythology, the anti-sports snob type who gets turned on and falls in love with baseball. It's nice. Very well done, very well said. It happens after all, and I can't think of anyone else who has touched it. The naked baseball players in the shower is pure vaudeville, pure Las Vegas, pure exploitation. I suppose Greenberg let his handlers at the Public Theater get to him; no doubt their craven greed pointed in this direction. As a result, we have here a Chorus Line type entertainment masquerading as a play. Well, everybody has to pay the rent. No doubt this has served as a meal ticket for all involved, but don't let them fool you into thinking this is a drama.
 GREAT December 31, 2006
I normaly don't like sports and try to dtray away from sport books. But this cought my eye, it spunded so inturesting, i had to read it. I instantly fell in love with it. it is very belivable and i love all the characters, including Shane Mungitt. I could see his point of view on the whole situation and how scared and confused he is. But my all time favorite character was Mason Marzac's character. He was what made me see baseball in a diffrent light. U still don't like basball, but it made me think for a minute, which was good. You don't have to know baseball to read this, whice is always a good thing. All in all a very good show. HBO shout turn this into a movie, I would watch it.
 Greenbergs Baseball Fantasy? March 22, 2006
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
Richard Greenberg's play is adventurous and thoughtful. The play begins after an outing and continues to take you on an unexpected journey. This play is a great read and I am sure even more exciting in person.
 A Play about Homosexuality and Baseball February 5, 2006
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
Darren Lemming, the star player for the New York Empires, matter-of-factly announces that he's gay during a post-game interview. Told by his teammate Kippy Sunderstrom, the play follows the days, weeks and months after the announcement and the effect it has on the Empires. The team seems to take it. No arguments; no in-fighting between Darren, the management or any players; life proceeds as normal. Until a racist and homophobic pitcher -- Shane Mungitt -- is brought up from the minor leagues, and his interactions with Darren lead to tragic consequences.
I think playwrite Richard Greenberg tried to meld two stories into one: a love for baseball as America's game and being openly gay in a overly macho place. I briefly understood the love for the game through the character of Mason Marzac, Dennis' gay business manager, but barely caught a glimpse of how tough it is to be gay in such an environment. The team doesn't seem to have a problem with Darren's homosexuality; that strikes me as odd. Only one person from the team has a problem with him in the showers, but nothing ever really comes of it. His best friend Davey Battle does have a problem with it, but he's a stereotyped Christian who finds Darren's sexaulity ugly. The character of Shane Mungitt is stereotyped, as well, made to be a dumb and idiotic redneck, and no one from the team will even speak to him when he joins the team. Darren Lemming is overly arrogant and unlikable, and through an unprovoked action on his part, causes Shane to commit his tragedy.
As a gay man, I couldn't get into the play or the characters -- all of which seemed very two-dimensional. Maybe it translates better on the stage, but in book form, I did not enjoy it.
Excellent Play! October 12, 2005
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I participated in the cast of this play last July 2005. One of the best experiences I have ever had doing theater.
The play is excellent. In general, I think the play is sad. The lives of the characters take a drastic turn when Darren Lemming, a baseball superstar, announces publicly that he is gay.
Take Me Out is a play about self acceptance, prejudice, taboos, homophobia, racism, hate crime. Raw and honest, it exposes many things that have been known for a long time but that everybody prefers to keep to themselves.
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