FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Leigh Allen, Marketing Director
(937) 461-3823, ext. 3112

DAYTON, OH - June 1- “I’d rather just play ball.” That’s how Darren Lemming, the star centerfielder of the New York Empires, feels about the turmoil he sets off when he matter-of-factly announces he’s gay. That’s not how all his teammates feel, which sets off the drama in The Human Race Theatre Company’s production of the Tony Award-winning Take Me Out, coming to The Loft Theatre in Dayton June 14-24.

The trip around the bases to an electrifying moment of truth is an enchanted look at baseball and the men who played it, a journey the Wall Street Journal called “funny, smart and touching” and the New York Times called “something to cherish.” Richard Greenberg’s play, which also won New York Drama Desk and Drama Critics Circle Awards and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2003, delves deep into the locker room, both figuratively and literally, to find humor, humanity, and tension.

The title takes on multiple meanings as Darren’s announcement creates dissent on the team and downright hatred on the part of Shane Mungitt, a rookie pitcher with a devastating fastball and enmity for minority groups of all sorts and the world in general. The tension builds as the Empires chase a pennant, Mungitt chases his demons, and young accountant Mason Marzac chases a new-found love of baseball.

The Human Race production is directed by Tim Lile and Marsha Hanna, with a locker room and ballpark set designed by Dick Block. Darren is played by Lindsay Smiling, who received plaudits for his performances in the same role at Minneapolis’ Mixed Blood Theatre. Lucas Van Engen plays Shane and Human Race Resident Artist Brian McKnight portrays, Mason, whose oratory on the game earned Dennis O’Hare a Tony for Take Me Out’s Broadway run.

Others in the all-male cast are David Marantz as Kippy, Alan Bomar Jones as Davey, Scott Stoney as the Skipper and Danziger, Michael Lehr as Kawabata, Keith Bolden as Toddy, J.J. Tiemeyer as Jason, Greg Hall as Martinez, and Ramon Gaitan as Rodriguez.

Because Take Me Out takes place largely in the Empires’ locker room, it includes adult language and male nudity, and is unsuitable for anyone under the age of 17.

Take Me Out is a special add-on show for The Loft, not part of the regular subscription series. Sponsors are Dr. Robert Brandt, Jr., Private Heart Studios, Jerry Clark and Barry McCorkle, Dr. Martha Moody Jacobs, Brian Sharp, and Economy Linen and Towel Service, Inc., with additional support from Larry S. Glickler, Bradford-Connelly and Glickler Funeral Home.

More information is available at www.humanracetheatre.org. Tickets, ranging from $15.50 to $34, are available at (937) 228-3630 or (888) 228-3630, www.ticketcenterstage.com, and the Schuster Center Box Office. For Group Sales, call 461-3823, ext. 3116.

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Founded in 1986, The Human Race Theatre Company presents universal themes that explore the human condition and startle us all into a renewed awareness of ourselves. The company moved to the Metropolitan Arts Center in 1991, taking up residence at The Loft, a 219-seat theatre. In addition to the Loft Series (in collaboration with the Victoria Theatre Association) The Human Race produces for the Fifth Third Broadway Series, the Musical Theatre Workshop series, and special event programming. The Human Race, under the direction of Artistic Director Marsha Hanna and Executive Director Kevin Moore, also maintains educational outreach programs for children and adults, guest artists and artist residencies in area schools, The Muse Machine In-School Tour, Youth Summer Stock and The Human Race Conservatory. The new Caryl D. Philips Creativity Center of The Human Race opened in January 2006 to provide a space for extensive theatre education classes and workshops.