Theater: “Take Me Out” at Second Stage

When “Take Me Out” first appeared at the Public back in 2002, it created a stir for several reasons. One, the plot centered around a handsome mixed-race baseball superstar (think Derek Jeter) who came out as gay. Two, the locker room setting showed buff actors in full frontal nudity. It all seemed very underground and daring. TMO quickly became known as “that gay baseball play.”

Twenty years later, the world has moved on. The subject of openly gay athletes is so mainstream that the play is part of this year’s Second Stage repertoire. But TMO is arguably more relevant today because it attacks subjects that are part of our everyday world—racism and homophobia—with brilliance, wisdom, and humor.

Brief plot synopsis: Darren (Jesse Williams from “Gray’s Anatomy”) comes out of the closet, thinking it’s no big deal. But it creates a distraction for the team, which suddenly starts losing. The downward spiral is halted when team management brings Shane Mungitt (the marvelous Michael Oberholtzer), an ignorant Southern bigot, up from their Triple A team and onto their pitching staff.

In an interview, Shane utters a series of slurs about the sexuality and ethnicity of his teammates, which sets off a series of events that turn ugly fast. Baseball fans in general and New Yorkers in particular may see in Shane an echo of John Rocker, a former MLB player who also made outrageously bigoted remarks about New Yorkers back in the day.

Providing comic relief is Mason Marzac (the hilarious Jesse Tyler Ferguson from “Modern Family”), who takes over as Darren’s business manager and who happens to be gay. Marz becomes besotted with baseball, seeing the game’s teamwork and subtleties as a metaphor for life.

Outstanding cast includes Broadway newcomer Patrick Adams (“Suits”) as Darren’s brainy teammate who serves as the unofficial narrator of TMO, which I’m happy to report has lost none of its punch over the last 20 years. So yes you should see it, and yes it’s (somewhat) gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

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