In this Tony Award-winning Best Play, playwright Richard Greenberg celebrates the personal and professional intricacies of America's favorite pastime. When Darren Lemming (Jesse Williams), the star center fielder for the Empires, comes out of the closet, the reception off the field reveals a barrage of long-held unspoken prejudices. Facing some hostile teammates and fraught friendships, Darren is forced to contend with the challenges of being a gay person of color within the confines of a classic American institution. As the Empires struggle to rally toward a championship season, the players and their fans begin to question tradition, their loyalties, and the price of victory.
At its best, 'Take Me Out,' which opened on Monday in a fine revival at the Helen Hayes Theater, is a five-tool play. It's (1) funny, with an unusually high density of laughs for a yarn that is (2) quite serious, and (3) cerebral without undermining its (4) emotion. I'm not sure whether (5) counts as one tool or many, but 'Take Me Out' gives meaty roles to a team of actors, led in this Second Stage Theater production by Jesse Williams as Lemming and Jesse Tyler Ferguson as his fanboy business manager.
If the point of Take Me Out is to make us uncomfortable - to make us think, to force us to feel, to allow us to acknowledge our privilege and our emotions and our relationship with those close to us and with ourselves - then it's more than done its job. In fact, it's hit a home run.
2002 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2003 | Broadway |
Broadway Transfer Broadway |
2022 | Broadway |
Second Stage Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
2022 | Broadway |
Broadway Return Engagement Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Jesse Tyler Ferguson |
2022 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Awards | Jesse Tyler Ferguson |
2022 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Awards | Jesse Williams |
2022 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Take Me Out |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Patrick J. Adams |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Play | Scott Ellis |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Jesse Tyler Ferguson |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Michael Oberholtzer |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Take Me Out |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | Jesse Tyler Ferguson |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | Michael Oberholtzer |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | Jesse Williams |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Take Me Out |
2021 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Awards | Patrick J Adams |
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