Fidel Castro confronts a would-be defector on the Cuban national baseball team in Castro and the Pitcher, a play with songs opening June 17 at the Hollywood Court Theatre for a five-week run.

The playwright Oscar Valdes portrays Castro. Valdes was born in Cuba and raised in Venezuela. He came to California in 1980 and has been active in theatre, television and film.

In his play we learn that Castro just might be the father of the star pitcher planning to defect to the U.S. Castro, it turns out, had a long-time liaison with the player's mother and is haunted by her presence -- along with the ghosts of Che Guevara and Camilio Cienfuegos.

Castro and the Pitcher is directed by Raoul N. Rizik, a native of the Dominican Republic. He recently directed Strange Country, This at the LATC. The cast includes Ellana Alexander, Teresa Corchete, Jorge Cordoba, Ben Farinas, Lee Kirk, Anna Lluch, Jasmin Solorzano, Victor Contreras, Alejandro De Hoyos and Mauricia Mendoza. The play's Cuban-born producer Victor Cabrera is on staff at KNBC/NBC in L.A.

The Hollywood Court Theatre is located in the Hollywood United Methodist Church on the corner of Franklin and Highland. Call (323) 993-8505 for information. -- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent