by Olivia Facini
(2022)
While attending her first MLB Characters Convention, Mel engages in quippy verbal showdowns, preposterous games of physical endurance, and a healthy dose of magical realist hijinks with an oddly matched group of her fellow characters and two women looking to change the game. Wacky and ultra-caffeinated—imagine the fusion of an ESPN blooper reel and a queer(er) Wizard of Oz—this play sizzles with nonstop jokes, pop culture references, and sassy PowerPoint slides that communicate God’s Word.
We hope you were able to join us!
The first public reading of Boys’ Club took place on Saturday, December 10 at Studios 797.
The reading featured Maggie Bofill*, Benny Diego, Fernando Gonzalez*, Kai Heath*, Nicholas Leung*, Louis Stein, Deychen Volino-Gyetsa, and Chloé Lexia Worthington.
I had an amazing time working with such a talented cast!
More About the Show
After breaking through glass ceilings to become what she is now—the Kansas City Royals’ plushy biped lion in a crown, aka Sluggerrr—Mel is really excited for her first Major League Baseball Characters Convention.* But, when she meets fellow characters Scott (the sweet-natured Mariner Moose from Seattle, of course), Keith (the brotastic dude embodying the Phillie Phanatic, a giant Sesame Street-esque green creature), and Bryce (the bitter intellectual who bemoans his fate as the Oakland A’s resident elephant, Stomper), Mel wonders whether she wants to be part of a club whose unofficial motto remains “No girls allowed.”
In order to make space for more women, will she have to become one of the boys? Two other women, Heather, the wild child of the ESPN journalistic team, and Gloria, a member of the convention center’s janitorial staff who’s as maternal as she is corporate-minded, have a thing or two to say about it—if anyone will listen.
Run time: 90 minutes with no intermission
*Professional mascots refer to themselves as “characters.” They take their work seriously—as should we.
