I go to a lot of theatre. A lot. Most of the time I go out of sheer devotion. Some people go to the ballet, others to church. I go to theatre. Most of the time I walk out underwhelmed because I’m a snob. And every once in awhile I float out the door because I have just been bowled over by a show. Back Back Back is one of those reasons that people leave the safety of their homes and venture out to the wild streets - because they want the soul's cargo to be shifted. It is also proof that good writing, good directing and good acting cannot be beat by anything, no how no way.
Back Back Back is at Manhattan Theatre Club - the small stage. While John Patrick Shanley's musical is languishing in the big theatre, there is a little miracle by Itamar Moses happening on the smaller stage next door. Charles Isherwood panned it, however, so the houses are small, which only goes to show you that reviewers can have off days too.
It is the story of three baseball players during the period from 1984 to 2005, and how doping weaseled its way into their lives. The tale is told without mentioning the words “doping” or “steroids” once, because that’s how we talk, us humans. We talk a-r-o-u-n-d the subjects. It is what visual artists call negative space - that which is not filled by the subject defines the subject. By not naming the deed, we shape its existence.
The three players, two seasoned and one rookie, meet up in the weight room before the first game of the 1988 World Series. We have already met one of them at the 1984 Olympics press conference. One player obliquely offers the rookie something to help him calm down and have more control over his skill. The years fly by, and if you are a baseball aficionado you will probably recognize where the writer chooses to stop as the years flash by on the electronic scoreboard above the set. I did not. No matter, however, because the writing picked me up and carried me along.
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