America: Boom, Bust, and Baseball Guide: Drama on the Diamond, A.R.T. Dramaturg Ryan McKittrick speaks with the creators of Johnny Baseball

A.R.T. Dramaturg Ryan McKittrick speaks with the creators of Johnny Baseball: writer Richard Dresser, composer Robert Reale, and lyricist Willie Reale.

Ryan McKittrick:Why did you want to write a musical about the Boston Red Sox?

Rick Dresser:There’s something valuable in anything that inspires deep passion. A lot of great writers have written about the Red Sox, because coming close to winning and getting defeated is more interesting than winning. I’m thrilled that the Red Sox finally won the World Series in 2004, but the idea of rooting for winners is very different than rooting for an underdog. Something about heartbreak is really compelling. One of the things that drew us to this project was the idea that this whole region of the country was following this one team so closely and getting consistently defeated in these inspired, tragic ways. In fact, we always spoke about this musical as a kind of Greek tragedy.

Willie Reale: I was at the Aaron Boone game in 2003. The Sox were up against the Yankees 5-2 in the 8th. I was with five Red Sox fans. I remember sitting at the end of the row and looking at these guys all hunched over, unable to watch. I said, “Hey guys, lighten up, I think you’ve got this one.” And as if they had practiced some choreographed move from a 1930s film, they all did this slow burn as if to say, “Don’t you know what’s coming?” And, of course, they were right. Little leaves Pedro in. The Yanks tie it and journeyman Aaron Boone homers to win it in the eleventh. Even before things took a turn for the worse for the Red Sox in that game, my friends had surrendered to a predestined collapse. It was so compelling to watch.

RM:Are Red Sox fans different from other baseball fans around the country? Robert Reale: I think there’s a lot more passion. I don’t think you could write this musical about any team but the Red Sox.

RD:People all over New England got more and more invested in the team over the course of the twentieth century. There was a real bond among many different people who were all asking the same questions: “Why not
us? Why can’t we ever win?” That really pulled people together.
WR: Red Sox fans are like army vets who have suffered through war together. We found their collective experience more dramatic than any other fan base because their tragedies were so great.RM: How did you begin focusing the musical on the integration of African-Americans into major league baseball?

RD:By talking through what the curse really meant to each of us, and how the Red Sox were the last major league team to integrate. We knew this story contained so much passion and tragedy and joy, but we really had to understand for ourselves what that curse meant before we could tell the story.

RM:Did you believe in the curse?

RD:I believed that the Red Sox were cursed in that they found ways to lose because of bad management. There was truly a different feeling when the new management took over in 2002. Within two years the Red Sox won the championship.

RM: What made you want to tell this story as a musical?

RR:Because there’s so much passion involved in this story. A musical is a much more vibrant way to tell a story, because there are things you can do in a musical that you can’t do in a regular play.

WR:The stakes in this story are so grand that it almost has to be sung. As Rick said, it’s a Greek tragedy, and stories of that size really lend themselves to music. And the things that we put our characters through really lend themselves to musical expression.

RM:Willie, who has influenced you as a lyricist?

WR:I’ve always admired the cleverness of Yip Harburg and Cole Porter-especially their wordplay. And there is no discussion of theater lyrics without Oscar Hammerstein and Stephen Sondheim. They have had a huge influence on me, and the form in general, because of how disciplined they are in keeping lyrics true to character. Any lyric that’s in the mouth of a character has to be something that character might say. What Rick writes in the book and what I write in the lyrics have to be seamlessly integrated so that the emotional journey we take in the storytelling is never interrupted by a bump. At least that’s the goal.

RM:Rob, how would you describe the music you’ve composed for Johnny Baseball?

RR:The musical spans most of the twentieth century, so I’ve tried to stay true to the period as we progress through each decade. There are also a number of scenes set in 2004, which allow me to do whatever I want musically. I’ve also written some church music, especially for the scenes set in the early twentieth century.

RM:Why church music?

RR:Because baseball is almost a religion for Sox fans.

WR:If you look at tapes of close Red Sox games, you always see the fans with their hands folded in prayer. I suspect that for some of them prayer is exclusively reserved for Red Sox games.

RM:You’ve blended fiction and fact in this musical. Why did you invent some characters and base others on historical figures?

RD:The characters based on historical figures are necessary to make the whole event feel real. You can’t write about theRed Sox in 1919 or 1920 without bringing in Babe Ruth or Harry Frazee. We always felt we were writing a fictional story that is based on what actually happened.

WR:We want the story to feel authentic, so we use a good deal of historical detail. We were careful to limit the liberties we took with history to avoid a public outcry. Red Sox fans are very knowledgeable of both the game and their team.

RM:Why do you think people get so passionate about the game of baseball? What is it about this particular sport?

RR:One great thing about baseball is that because there aren’t helmets, you have access to the range of expressions on the players. It’s very dramatic. And because there’s no clock, it’s a game that takes its time. You see people walking around and kicking the dirt from their shoes. And the dramatic tension builds! There’s a lot going on with every pitch, and the fans are all analyzing every single thing that happens on the field. People like their baseball drama.

WR:Baseball is a team game, but there are spotlighted individual moments for batters and pitchers and fielders. So when you follow a team over time, you get to know all the characters on that team. Look at the Red Sox team from 2004-what a cast of characters! Each compelling in his own way. That’s why we’re so drawn to the game-because we as rooters become so familiar with the characters on our team when they reveal themselves through these spotlit moments in their lives on the field.

RD:It’s a game that is passed down from parents to children, tossing a ball in the backyard, rooting for the home team, perhaps making a pilgrimage to Cooperstown. It remains the classic American game because it’s about family.

RM:To what extent would you like to give audiences the experience of being at a baseball game in Johnny Baseball?

RD:We’ve talked about that in terms of the set. We want to give people the feeling that they’re in the ballpark.

WR:I think we should blow the scent of hotdogs into the room!

ART_ABBB_Guide_FINAL_for_web2