The Sweetest Swing in Baseball: A Lonely Theatergoer's Review

Further, the cast members -- some familiar plus a few that are new -- give solid performances. Liz Fisher commands the stage in the lead role of Dana, an artist whose career is failing because her work is in a slump. Dana has been bitten by the nasty bug of public opinion. Or rather, perceived public opinion. She can't produce good work anymore because she's over-thinking every brushstroke. So she attempts suicide and lands in a rehab center where she plays with the nutcases and drunks, gets some time to relax, and rediscovers the joy of working unfettered by mind-clouding criticism and pesky unsolicited advice. Fisher is weary, wry, and dryly funny. Perhaps it's awkward to make comparisons between local actors, but we were periodically reminded of Lee Eddy. We love Lee Eddy, so this is intended as high praise.

The supporting cast was also good. In particular, we were re-smitten with Rebecca Robinson, and newly taken by Chris Sykes. We're familiar with Robinson's much-lauded skills, but it's been awhile since we've seen her flesh things out in some much-deserved stage time. Her vicious, self-centered spin as Dana's agent, Rhonda, was a blast to watch. Reminiscent of Bebe Neuwirth in her cattiest moments, Robinson was cool and manipulative, all the while gathering laughs for the instinctive gestures and subtle facial expressions -- an arched eyebrow here, a curled lip there -- of a fine-tuned, talented actress. Similarly, we enjoyed Sykes' work as Gary, resident nut-farm psycho. Gary had all the zingers, and Sykes made the most of them, filling out his edgy, comic-relief character with a squint and a snarl. Leah Moss and Paul Fielder were sincere and sweet as friends of Dana, though their roles were more functional and sported fewer teeth.

By and large, we had the distinct feeling that Topham took this accomplished group of actors, wound them up, set them on the stage, and let them do their thing. There's not much of a director's hand at work here, and we couldn't help but wonder what a more experienced leader might make of the script. This is a lights up / lights down, walk on stage / walk off stage production, and though this general lack of style didn't ruin things for us, we found it oddly wearying. We couldn't shake the sense that we were waiting for something to happen, and in retrospect we wondered whether Topham missed the mark on helping his actors find their character's turning points in the work. We were glad that the story ended on a high note (if a somewhat puzzling one), but once we left the theatre we didn't think anything much about it again.

However, considering this was a first stab at the big chair, the overall results work well enough. You won't find madness and mayhem in this Sweetest Swing in Baseball, but you will experience a night of standard, good theatre with several great performances. Sometimes that's all you need.

The Sweetest Swing in Baseball
Thru August 26, Th/Fr/Sa @ 8pm
Tickets $14-17 / Thursdays pay-what-you-can (minimum $5)
Email here or call 419-7878 for reservations

Image (c) Universal Automotive in association with Hyde Park Theatre.