Patrick Hilt is terrific as Mason Marzac, Darren's geeky gay money manager who develops an unexpected passion for the game. His character is based on the playwright's own experiences, and Greenberg has written some wonderful baseball lover's monologues for him that Hilt delivers with infectious enthusiasm.
Best of all is Trip Langley as Shane, the poorly-spoken naif whose inbred prejudices become the source of the play's tragedy. Langley manages to imbue a potentially single-dimension character with levels of shading that allow us to see the frustrated person inside and even feel some pity for him.
Director Kenne Guillory's "theater in-the-round" staging is effective, but the PowerPoint projection on the back wall, advertising upcoming productions, is a bust. And theater is all about language...something he needs to work on more carefully with his actors.
Take Me Out plays Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays through June 10 at the Sky Lounge, 4930 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood. Reservations can be made online.
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