EpochTimes July 30, 2007

Chicago Children's Theatre has had a marvelous year and as they mature, Chicago will see that this is truly a theater company that will one day have its own home. Right now, they are producing the Midwest Premiere of "Honus and Me" written by Steven Dietz , based on the novel by Dan Gutman. This is the story of a young teen and his "coming of age" through the miracle of a baseball card, but not just any card, the Honus Wagner T-206 ( limited production made this card worth over 2,000,000 at auctions). While the story deals with baseball and time travel, this 90 plus minutes truly deal with relationships and growing up. While the name of this troupe is Chicago Children's Theatre, this production is for young and old audiences. I suggest that children be at least 9 or 10 and there is no intermission.

As you enter the Goodman Theatre's Owen, you will see that Set designer Todd Rosenthal has transformed this venue into a baseball field with bleachers and ivied brick walls. Before the show starts, cast members in uniform are on stage tossing rubber balls around and involving the kids ( and a few oldsters) as well. The kids were having a "ball" , but when the story began, they quieted down nicely. We meet our main character , Joe Stoshak ( Perfectly handled by Tim Rock who appears to be having as much fun as the audience in his first "major" role) who is playing baseball and always makes the last out. His divorced parents ( Amy J. Carle and Sean Cooper) try to boost his ego, but Joey knows he is just not good enough. Meanwhile his mom arranges for Joey to go clean the attic of a neighbor's house. Miss Young ( the very funny Jane Alderman) tells him whatever he likes he can keep.

As he cleans the attic Joey finds the baseball card and finds out that it is the real thing, which will make them rich and perhaps bring his folks back together again.

While holding the card, he makes a wish and all of a sudden, Honus Wagner ( played to perfection by Eric Slater) appears in his room. They talk and talk and along the way establish a brotherly bond and soon Joey is transported back to 1909 and ends up batting in the World Series, where he learns the lessons of life. Director Sean Graney has done an excellent job of making this production sparkle with enough laughs and yet get its message out to the audience. Although Mr. Graney is not a sports enthusiast, he has evidently done the research and has put his fine cast together to make a production that should be seen by as many people as possible. You don't need to like baseball ( or even understand it)! You don't need to be male! You don't need to be a kid! No matter who you are or where you come from, this is probably one of the finest productions our city has had. The cast also includes some top notch performances by Jose Antonio Garcia ( Birdie as well as some other characters) ,John Steven Crowly, Matthew Holzfeind, Lydia Benecke, Kevin Crowly and Laurence Stepney. This small cast fills this stage with some super work!, but watching Tim Rock is well worth the price of a ticket. Here is a young actor getting the role of a lifetime ( well, at least up until now) and giving a performance worthy of note by the Jeff Committee. If you come as a family,you will have a wonderful experience to remember together. If you don't have a family, do not let that deter you from seeing one of the best plays to hit Chicago this year.

"Honus and Me" will only run through August 26th ( maybe we will get lucky and go into extra innings and the run can be extended to the post season) with performances as follows:

Fridays at 7 p.m.
Saturdays at 2 and 6 p.m.
Sundays at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

There are also a few Thursday matinees at 1 p.m. on August 2nd and 9th.

This is a very limited run so get your tickets right away. They range from $15-$38 and are available at the box office, by phone at 312-443-3800 or online at www.chicagochildrenstheatre.org

DO NOT MISS THIS ONE