JOHNNY BASEBALL OFF-BROADWAY REVIEWS

Show	NY TIMES	VARIETY	TM	CURTAIN UP	TALKIN' BWAY

Synopsis: After the Red Sox stunning collapse in the 2003 playoffs, a baseball-obsessed team of musical theater writers (one long suffering Sox fan and two smug yet oddly sympathetic Yankees fans) went in search of the reason for the Curse on the Red Sox. Their journey yielded surprising conclusions and a clever new musical.

Broadway Reviews

NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW:

"Babe Ruth shows up to throw a bit of grit into the polished blandness of “Johnny Baseball,” a well-mannered musical about a rudeness-provoking sport, now at the American Repertory Theater here. Of course any show about the curse of the Boston Red Sox would have to include George Herman Ruth Jr., who, according to baseball mythology, was the curse’s cause. After they sold him to the Yankees, in 1920, the Sox didn’t win a World Series for more than eight decades. "

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VARIETY REVIEW:

"The damn Yankees aren't the only baseball team with a musical-theater hex. The Boston Red Sox deal with their own fixed fate onstage -- one with darker implications -- in the cleverly crafted and terrifically performed new tuner "Johnny Baseball," receiving its first ups at Beantown's (Cambridge, really) American Repertory Theater. Helmer Diane Paulus hits a clean line drive straight into center field with a thoughtful, crowd-pleasing and deftly balanced show that even a Yankee could love."

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THEATERMANIA REVIEW:

"Due to its very Boston-centric subject matter, A.R.T.'s world premiere musical Johnny Baseball, may never get to play on Broadway. But there's no doubt this show, directed by Diane Paulus, is a good, solid work in the all-American tradition that's worth seeing. "

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CURTAIN UP REVIEW:

"Here's one out-of-town premiere that's probably not going to play New York City. Johnny Baseball, the ART's anti-Yankee season closer, is a paean to the Red Sox and their scruffy, occasionally foul-mouthed fans that also aims to be a finger-wagging indictment of historical racism in American sports. That it's more successful as a slick, if heartfelt, entertainment, than as a thought-provoking story about love in a time of intolerance demonstrates how difficult it is for this sometime landmark of experimental theater to find a balance now between populism, risk-taking and commerce. "

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TALKIN' BROADWAY REVIEW:

"The American Repertory Theater presents the world premiere of Johnny Baseball, the new musical about the Boston Red Sox and the legendary curse blamed for the team's 86-year long drought between championships. The Loeb Drama Center is transformed into a miniature Fenway Park, complete with bleachers, scoreboard and a vendor selling hot dogs and beer that you can enjoy at your seat. A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus directs a solid cast with Broadway credits, highlighted by the return of Boston Conservatory alumna and local favorite Stephanie Umoh. "

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