Daily Herald July 30, 2007

A home run for children's theater

Baseball fantasy scores at the Goodman

By Pam DeFiglio

Bring your mitt to the Goodman Theatre, because the cast of “Honus and Me” plays catch with the audience before the show. They use very soft balls, which is fortunate, because I got hit in the stomach.

Once the lights dim and the play begins, however, the cast's aim becomes very true. Tim Rock plays the main character, an engaging everykid named Joey Stoshack, with great openness and enthusiasm. Eric Slater interprets baseball great Honus Wagner with just the right mix of aw-shucks modesty and rugged sports hero confidence.

Chicago Children's Theatre has a knack for picking good material, and “Honus” continues their streak. Even if you're not a baseball fan, Steven Dietz's play, adapted from the novel by Dan Gutman, will sweep you up in the character Joey's love of the game.

Joey doesn't play so well, but he admires great players. When he finds a Honus Wagner baseball card — which is worth a lot of money — in a neighbor's attic, the magic in the card enables both him and Honus to time-travel between the present and the 1909 World Series game Honus played in.

As Honus imparts both moral wisdom and really good batting tips to Joey, Joey vacillates. Should he do the right thing and return the multi-million-dollar baseball card to the neighbor? Or should he grab the money in the hopes it will end his divorced parents' financial squabbles and get them back together?

Director Sean Graney takes this promising material and runs around the bases with it. He does wonderful staging of both Joey's and Honus' baseball games. He coaches Jose Antonio Garcia and Matthew Holzfeind, as the neighborhood toughs itching to relieve Joey of the big-money baseball card, into raucous physical comedy.

And he treats the material with energy and respect. He and the cast earn the laughs honestly, and they create a genuine feeling in moments of friendship and affection.

The story may be a little lightweight, and there may a moment of sentimentality here and there, but the play shows the brightness of a boy's dreams and the way they can help him shape his life.

Honus Wagner batted .300 or better (mostly better) for 17 years of his career and had so many hits, steals and RBIs that he's considered one of the greatest baseball players ever.

“Honus and Me” honors his excellence with excellence of its own, creating joy that rivals the satisfying thwack of a bat connecting with a ball.