“Toni Stone” is a play about baseball. It is a play about Civil Rights and the true history of Blacks in America. It is also about women’s rights and their right to control their bodies and their lives. This serious drama will also have you laughing with its wit and humor. Written by Lydia R. Diamond, based on the book “Curveball, The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone”, the play is directed by Pam Mackinnon and produced by Samantha Barrie, in association with American Conservatory Theater under the artistic direction of Molly Smith.
This is an errorless production that will leave you cheering for the whole team throughout the performance.
“Toni Stone” (Santoya Fields) was a real woman and the only woman to ever play professional baseball with men. She accomplished this as a player in the Negro Leagues for a team called the Indianapolis Clowns, baseball’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters. Stone played in the late 40s and early 50s when Blacks, like Jackie Robinson, were finally allowed to play in the Major Leagues. She became the second baseman when Hank Aaron left to play for a Major League Baseball franchise in the minor leagues.
Stone loved baseball from the time she was a child and learned how to play well enough to be competitive with men. She not only loved baseball, but she lived baseball. She learned all the statistics and hid behind trees and bushes to watch boys play and learn the game.
Stone finally got a chance to play for the Clowns when its owner, Syd Pollock, hired Toni when she was in her thirties. She had lied about her age saying she was only 25. She eventually met a man who at first became her friend, Captain Aurelious Pescia Alberga (Aldo Billingslea). She always called by his last name which most athletes do when referring to each other. One night when the team is forced to sleep at a brothel because they are not allowed into most hotels, she meets Millie (Kenn E. Head) who is a prostitute and becomes Toni’s best, and only female, friend. The play follows Stone for the years she played for the Clowns, who were so named because that were told to act foolishly to entertain the white spectators. Most of the players, including Stone, took their playing seriously.
If you are concerned that you know very little about baseball, the fact that the play focuses on her relationships with Alberga and Millie with vignettes about her family, pastor, and sexual harassment in the workplace should relieve your worries. If you no nothing about baseball, you will stay enjoy watching the characters and their challenges.
Fields simply becomes Toni Stone — the tomboy who crosses into the often harsh world of the Negro League without losing her confidence or desires. Field’s performance is a grand slam. She makes you laugh and cry, but more importantly makes you think about how Stone’s experiences are not so far removed from other women who fought long and hard to follow their dreams despite obstacles — whether it was to become a sports journalist, a playwright, a director, or just a woman who did not want to ride in the back of the bus.
Head’s Millie also is a truly multi-faceted characterization with his uncanny performance. He also plays a teammate, Willie, but it is Millie who provides much of the comic relief. Despite her hard life, she reaches out a helping hand to Toni, teaching her about life and supporting her dreams.
Billingslea as Alberga also creates an older, but confident man who for some reason is fascinated by Toni, and eventually falls in love with her. Billingslea also plays her teammate, Rufus, for a short time early in the plot.
The rest of the fine ensemble are all hits. Gilbert Lewis Bailey II is the studious and politically-minded Spec. He also steps away from that role to play Gabby, an older coach of a boys’ baseball team who befriends a young Toni. Deimoni Brewington is the youngest player, Jimmy, but he is also Father O’Keefe, the young Toni’s family priest. JaBen Early plays King Tut another member of the Clowns who dreams of playing “real baseball” but has to act like a jokester to keep his paycheck coming. He also plays a Supervisor who hires Toni for a “real” job. Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. is the conflicted Elzie. Sean-Maurice Lynch plays Stretch, another lost talent. Woody, artfully played by Jarrod Mims Smith, is another frustrated ballplayer who often tries to forget how hard it is to be a Black ballplayer in those years. All shine in one of my favorite scenes when they beat an all-white team. They were supposed to take a dive but risked their lives to show how well they can play — and the audience senses their pride.
The direction by Mackinnon is sharp and clever. Along with choreography by Camille A. Brown, in association with Samantha Barrie, it is amazing that, with very little props and scenery, the cast creates the ballgames. At one point, they illustrate how demeaning it often was to be one of the Clowns through an intricate dance without music. It takes your breath away.
The minimalist set is by Riccardo Hernádez who takes us from the ballpark, to brothel, and a bar with ease. Dede Ayite’s costume design is mainly the Clown’s uniforms, but also some era-appropriate clothing for Millie and Alberga that transports us to the 40s and 50s. The lighting design by Allen Lee Hughes reflects many of the emotions in the play while Broken Chord’s sound design and original music help depict the sounds of the game and the spectators.
This is an errorless production that will leave you cheering for the whole team throughout the performance.
Running Time: Two hours with a 15-intermission.
Advisory: The play is rated PG-13 due to strong language and sexual situations.
“Toni Stone” runs until October 3, 2001 at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater 1101 6th Street SW, Washington, DC in the Kreeger Theater. For more information and tickets, go to this link.
To enter the building, you must have ID and proof of Covid-19 vaccination(s). Everyone must wear masks inside the building. There will be a free simulcast at Nationals Park with cooperation from the Washington Nationals on September 26, 2021 at 7:30 pm. Go to this link to reserve your tickets. An Audio-Described performance will be presented on September 28 at 2 pm, and Southwest Night is September 26 at 7:30 pm. You can see the full calendar of Arena Stage productions for this season here.
Read Susan Brall’s interview with the young actor, Deimoni Brewington, at Maryland Theatre Guide.
