New theater debuts with a comedy home run

PLAY REVIEW /// ‘Bleacher Bums’



BASES LOADED—The cast of “Bleacher Bums,” a love sonnet to baseball fans, playing through Saturday at Playhouse 101, a new theater opening on Canwood Street in Agoura Hills.

BASES LOADED—The cast of “Bleacher Bums,” a love sonnet to baseball fans, playing through Saturday at Playhouse 101, a new theater opening on Canwood Street in Agoura Hills.

Not since the old Stage Door folded in 2008 has Agoura Hills had a community theater company, so when Jeff Wallach recently converted a business office space on Canwood Drive into a new black box theater, it brought smiles to the faces of theater fans in the area.

Wallach, the artistic director for Curtain Call Youth Theatre, decided to call the new company Playhouse 101. The idea was not to reflect the amateur status of its players, but rather for its proximity to the Ventura Freeway, making the theater a convenient destination for those traveling the 101 corridor.

Playhouse 101 can accommodate a variety of configurations, from a traditional 35-seat proscenium to a 60-seat theater-in-the-round. Its premiere production, the 1977 comedy “Bleacher Bums,” made its debut April 28.

Written by actor/producer Joe Mantegna, the show is a one-act love sonnet to the universality of baseball fans, especially the long-suffering (until last year) Chicago Cubs. Its plot is simple: A group of fans in the Wrigley Field bleachers watch a ballgame between the hometown Cubs and their arch rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, and we watch them.

It’s a boisterous, often riotous character study that requires consummate timing by its cast of 10, most of whom are on stage throughout the play.

The main antagonists are long-suffering Cubs fan Herb “Zig” Zigowski (Seth Wayne) and professional gambler Marvin (Michael Keane), a virulent anti-Cubs fan, who argue, bicker and wager in increasingly alarming amounts as the Cubs’ fortunes rise and fall.

Keane is terrific, with a red hat and zinc oxide nose as he browbeats everyone into taking bets and then gloating when they lose. Zig is a battle-scarred survivor of 30 years of Cubs futility who loyally keeps the faith, even though he knows better. Zig is supposed to be a loudmouth, but Wayne plays him more subdued than normal, to a point where Marvin and the others often drown him out when things get noisy.

Mary Comstock plays Zig’s wife, Rose, who doesn’t attend as many games as Zig but, as we discover, is more baseball savvy than he is. John Comstock plays Decker, a businessman who comes to the game with Richie (Andrew Klos), a teenage geek who can’t keep his clip-on sunglasses from staying put and manages to get a variety of ballpark food flung at him.

Joella Bolen is the nameless Cheerleader (usually a man’s role), a shrieking, obnoxious fan who roams the stands, annoying everyone. Sam Vincent is convincing as Greg, a blind Cubs fan who listens to the game on a transistor radio. The articulate Greg “broadcasts” the game from his seat, using Chris Berman-inspired pet terms for each player—Mark “Amazing” Grace, Jeff “Master Blaster” Blauser among them. (“Bleacher Bums” was updated to reflect players from the 1998 Cubs and Cardinals.)

Isabelle Delman is superb as the self-absorbed Melody, who wears a revealing sunbathing outfit and initially shows little interest in the game, preferring to file her nails or brush her hair.

Melody is the only character who shows any growth. After being humiliated by Richie, whom Marvin challenges to get her phone number, she is consoled by Greg and begins to take interest in him as well as the game. When the Cheerleader raises Cain in the stands, Melody shyly takes Greg’s hand in hers, a really beautiful moment in the play.

Rounding out the cast are Holly Baxter, as an officious stadium guard, and 7-year-old Isabella Burrous as the Kid, who annoys Decker by sitting in his “lucky” seat.

“Bleacher Bums” concludes its run May 13 at Playhouse 101, 28720 Canwood St., Ste. 108 in Agoura Hills. Tickets are available at the box office.


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