Caldwell artistic director Michael Hall will stage the play, about an incident-packed season in the life of a Yankees like baseball team. When the star player comes out of the closet, it seems to set off a chain of events that bring passion and pain to the players and those around them.
There had been talk of a national tour of the provocative work, which won 2003 Tonys for Best Play and Best Director (Joe Mantello), but no plan has materialized so far.
Despite the nudity in its original production (the 2002 co-staging between Donmar Warehouse and The Public Theater made the leap to Broadway in 2002-03), the play is expected to blossom in regional theatres in the coming years.
Casting for the Caldwell run will happen in Florida and New York in the coming months. It was not immediately clear if the Caldwell staging represents the resident professional premiere of the play. The Broadway run closed Jan. 4, 2004.
The Caldwell staging will retain the script's implicit nudity. Locker rooms and showers are part of the play's world — and the play's themes of exposure, male ego and competition. For information about Caldwell Theatre Company, in Boca Raton, call (561) 241-7432 or toll free at (877) 245-7432 or visit www.caldwelltheatre.com.
*
The Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City will stage Take Me Out starting June 16.