Didn’t grow up in St. Louis? Don’t speak baseball? Never saw From Russia with Love?
Never mind; you’ll probably still enjoy Now Playing Third Base for the St. Louis Cardinals…Bond, James Bond, the current offering from The Midnight Company. Joe Hanrahan, Midnight’s co-founder wrote this out of his own St. Louis youth, and performs the one-hander. (If you’re one of those people who hates having the fourth wall broken – a performer directly addressing the audience – you’re better off going to Ted Drewes.)
It’s the summer of 1964. JFK is newly dead, the Cardinals just can’t get it together, and kids play outside. There’s backstory, of course, as there always is when we tell tales of our childhood, or what might have been our childhood. That’s fair warning that this isn’t totally a linear story. Hanrahan takes us down any number of rabbit holes, from Freund bakery trucks to the origin of one-performer theater pieces. Fascinating stuff, nearly always. (And congratulations to whomever persuades him to join their trivia team.) The pace is leisurely, but that’s okay. We all know the ending – well, at least most of us do. It’s the journey that’s the point of this trip, not the destination.
There’s a screen behind the set, but on the night I saw the show, the video appeared to have gone out for an Imo’s or something, and couldn’t be persuaded to return. But the very simple set, involving a bench, a bat, a ball and a glove, are just fine, and it all flowed well. Most importantly, the erratic acoustics of The Chapel appeared to have been brought under control, even with the music of the period used to emphasize things. Of course you couldn’t have this without the Bond theme music, for instance. And since there’s discussion of the Beatles, who made their debut on American television that summer, there are a few of their early tracks as well.
Shane Signorino directed Hanrahan in the show. The production and lighting designer was Kevin Bowman, and Elizabeth Henning serves as stage manager. Audiovisual design came from Michael B. Perkins.
It’s a charming, low-key show, delightful escapist stuff with lots of anecdotes and moving back and forth from Bond script to locker room to selling soda at old Busch Stadium. Quite satisfying unless you’re a Yankees fan.
Now Playing Third Base for the St. Louis Cardinals…Bond, James Bond
The Midnight Company
through July 25
The Chapel
6238 Alexander Drive, 63105