Play Ball with the Splendid Splinter at North Coast Repertory Theatre, Solana Beach, Calif.
THE SCOOP
“Ted Williams: A Tip of the Cap”
When: 7:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday
Where: North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach, Calif.
Tickets: $15-20
Phone: (858) 481-1055
Online: northcoastrep.org
June 20 & 21, 2011
7:30pm
Written by Matt Thompson
Directed by Tina Polzin &
Matt Thompson
Commissioned by NCR Artistic Director David Ellenstein and underwritten by the San Diego Hall of Champions Museum.
This one person tour de force performance encompasses the life of one of baseball’s legendary greats: The Boston Red Sox’s Ted Williams. Through the art of performance and visual imagery, we follow Ted’s life from his humble beginnings in San Diego to his shining accomplishments on the diamond.
The Splendid Splinter recalls his life both on and off the field as we are privy to his failed marriages, distant sense of family and his scoffs with the media as well as his heroics of The Korean War, his near impossible accomplishment of hitting .406, and finally his entrance into baseball’s Hall of Fame.
“Baseball is the only place where you can fail seven out of ten times and be considered a success. Maybe my life mirrored the sport more than I could have ever known.” – Ted Williams.
(Photo: Johnny Clark portrays Ted Williams in the world premiere of "Ted Williams: A Tip of the Cap," at North Coast Rep in Solana Beach. — Courtesy of Valerie Henderson)
“A Tip of the Cap,” which stars the L.A.-based actor Johnny Clark, follows the Hoover High grad and batting hero’s career from his early days in the 1930s (Williams’ first pro team was the minor league Padres) to his post-playing time as manager of the Washington Senators.
In between came all those still-startling achievements by “Teddy Ballgame,” who died in 2002: his six American League batting titles, his career .344 average, his pair of Triple Crowns, his .406 average in 1941 (the last time any major league baseball player has hit above .400).
Its writer is Matt Thompson, a wide-ranging playwright, director and actor who also heads the Solana Beachcompany’s education programs. Thompson was commissioned by NCRT artistic director David Ellenstein two years ago to create the workshop piece, which will be restaged at the San Diego Hall of Champions later this summer.
The project’s original inspiration came from the hall’s late founder, Bob Breitbard, a childhood friend of Williams’ and a local sports legend in his own right. (He opened the San Diego Sports Arena and brought professional hockey and basketball franchises to town.)
