"Take Me Out" in DC

[Razz77]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 12:51pm

Has anyone seen this production at the Studio Theatre in DC yet? It started this past week, I believe...

Any comments/thoughts?

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 3:23pm

Razz77,

I saw it Saturday night and was working on my review for the board. Having seen the original Broadway production, I will say I was very disappointed with the production currently being presented at the Studio Theatre.

In a quick nutshell, I felt that I saw "charicatures" rather than characters on stage, and not many of the actors convinced me that they were baseball players.

[Adam Chris]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 3:35pm

i saw take me out in sandiego...dirty little show

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 3:39pm

I saw it in San Deigo too. It wasn't dirty it was... okay it was dirty. but good dirty. like go back and see it again dirty. like fu*k those guys were hot...

[baddadnpa]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 3:40pm

How can it be dirty - they were always in the shower washing every inch of their bodies.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 3:46pm

okay so it was clean dirty... seems like the show could be done without any nudity at all, but then it wouldn't be nearly as much fun... I know its there to make us feel uncomfortable, but it didn't work for me. uncomfortable was the last thing on my mind...

[baddadnpa]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 3:47pm

I would've been uncomfortable if I had to stand up. Other than that, I was perfectly fine. The whole show could've taken place in the shower for all I cared.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 3:50pm

from a physical standpoint, 3 of the guys (including the lead) were not in the best shape.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 4:04pm

ha. NOT in San Diego... Doug Wert as Kippy... holy mother of god. that guy obviously goes to the gym maybe more than three times a week. He had the most defined muscle tone of anyone I've ever seen in my life. Shane, played by Harlon George was so worth the ticket price. He was the exact opposite of Doug in terms of body type, just a skinny guy, but his... well... I won't go there, but just, yeah... you know what I'm getting at... the rest of the cast were all fine too. not one among them was in any way out of shape...

[baddadnpa]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 4:07pm

It amazed me in seeing the NY production that every single actor on the stage was "above average" if you get my drift. Was this part of the audition process?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 4:16pm

I love Take Me Out. Can't wait to read the review of DC's production.

I saw the national tour in San Francisco. Doug Wert, woo!

Luckily it wasn't until I got home that my latent-Trekkie-self realized that was Wes Crusher's dad...

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 4:20pm

of course it was part of the audition process the show both in NY and San Diego was directed by Joe Mantello. That guy is a kinky mo-fo... no doubt he took pictures too. I mean, I know there's an equity rule somewhere that says you can't force someone to do so, but you can ask... I mean, if you're going to an audition for something like puppetry of the penis or naked boys singing, obviously you have to get naked... take me out I'm not so sure of because like full monty they should just be regular average guys, but then at the same time they're athletes so they should be a little more toned and defined and I'm thinking about this way too much...

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 4:31pm

Lizzie, the guy who plays Darren Lemming (MD Walton) was on the National tour, so I'm sure you saw him.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 5:25pm

I'm sure I did too.

(I saw TMO twice here; should've mentioned that.)

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 5:28pm

I don't remember Walton being over weight. was I that blinded by Doug and Harlon? ugh... I knew I should have gone a third time...

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 5:35pm

It could be that Walton has gained a little weight since the time you last saw him. Granted, we're all human, but he did not fit the "stereotypical" physique of a star athlete. In this case, I would think the actors physique is essential to the character.

Thanks for your responses.

[cturtle]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 5:46pm

well, daniel sujuata was EVERY BIT the athlete. (we have his autographed ball in our library.)

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 5:49pm

I hope you meant baseball, cuz' woah....

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 9:12pm

"we have his autographed ball in our library."

LOL! Wouldn't an autographed playbill be easier to display???

Seriously, we know what you mean but did you realize what you said?

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 9:53pm

I see this show strictly for the nudity. The bigger the guy, the better. I loved the bodies of Daniel Sunjata and Neil Huff (Kippy), but I think I was more partial to Gene Gabriel (i.e. the one with the huge bottom) and Robert M. Jimenez (the other guy who was usually at the far left end of the stage). It amuses me to think of what people must've said to these guys at the stage door. I imagine that the audiences didn't just compliment them on their performances...

[cturtle]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 10:03pm

yes, i know what i said, and it's true!

of course it's a baseball. it was one of the perks for a contribution to BC/EFA, and it's signed by the entire cast. it's in a plexiglass cube on a shelf.

[Bwaybabie]

Posted: 5/23/05 at 10:38pm

Hi,

I saw the production on Sunday. While I liked the production more than Dottie did overall, I definitely agree there were some characterizations that fell back on stereotype. I also thought the direction in act 1 was kind of iffy but got better in act 2.

Rick Foucheux was hilarious as Mars, but he could tone himself down a bit. Then again, he might not be quite as funny if he did!

I never saw the Broadway production, alas, so all I had to go on was my knowledge that it was a good play and that there would be a lot of nakedness on display. The guy who played Kippy was very athletic indeed.