Sitting 20 feet from Eddie Cicotte Pt 2

A few weeks ago Team Phungo took in some culture in the form of Local Theater. We checked out a production of Anton Checkov's "The Cherry Orchard" at the People's Light Theater in Malvern PA. 

I have seen four productions at the People's Light and this was my least favorite. Following the play I read some background on the play and it is mentioned that directors struggle with the works balance of farce and tragedy.

I think this may have been the issue with the People's Light production of "The Cherry Orchard". The downbeats out paced the fun parts and the strongest character,  Lopakhin, was also the least likable.

My other issue was that several times in the play the dialogue between the characters came to a complete stop. I think this was to allow the audience to think about the action, these dramatic pauses were too frequent for my taste.

Regardless I was glad that I saw the show. Mrs Phungo does a great deal of work in Russian Studies and through her I have learned a lot about Checkovian theater. We have seen several Checkov influenced productions but this is the first time I saw one of the original plays.

1988 Orion Pictures "Eight Men Out" #6 David Strathairn as Eddie Cicotte

The plays lead roles featured a pair of actors with significant resumes for suburban theater, Mary McDonnell and David Straithairn

McDonnell is the star of the TNT drama series "Major Crimes" a spinoff of "the Closer". She has won and Obie and been nominated for several Oscars including Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Stands With A Fist in "Dances With Wolves". McDonnell's Daughter, Olivia Mell. also appeared in the Cherry Orchard. 

The lead male role of Leonid was played by David Straithairn who is familiar to baseball film fans as the actor who portrayed Eddie Cicotte in Eight Men Out. 

David Straithairn must be a fan of not just the theater, but Theater in Philadelphia. Back in 2010 we Strathairn in the Vaclav Havel play "Leaving" which is Checkov influenced. To see our review of that show click here.

It is pretty cool to see noted stars in a tiny theater in a small town like Malvern. People's Light always puts together quality plays, and despite my reservations presented at the top of the article I am glad that I got to see their production of "the Cherry Orchard"

Sources & Links
People's Light Theater
Eldritch Press
imdb
TNT

Sitting 20 Feet from Eddie Cicotte

I was sitting within 20 feet from Eddie Cicotte.

Well not the real Cicotte - He's been dead since 1969. But rather David Strathairn, the man who played Cicotte in the 1988 film "Eight Men Out".
1988 Orion Pictures "Eight Men Out" #14 David Strathairn as Eddie Cicotte

Recently team Phungo had the pleasure of attending the US Premier of Vaclav Havel's new play "Leaving" which featured Strathairn in the lead role as an aging lame-duck head of state preparing to leave/be ousted from office. The play is funny albeit confusing with over a dozen characters. It was staged at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, which is capable of handling elaborate staging and demonstrating the possibilities of high-end theater.

Vaclav Havel is not just a playwright, he was also once the President of Czechslovakia. "Leaving" has a long going on and likely rewards the veteran theatergoer more than an amateur like myself, but it was still enjoyable.

David Strathairn was well suited for the lead and could handle both it's many comedic and dramatic turns. We were in the third row of the theater and it was pretty cool to see one of the stars from an Iconic baseball film up on the stage less than 20 feet away.

The card above is from a set promoting the Film. There are a handful of cards in the 180 card set that feature Strathairn/Cicotte. Eddie Cicotte was the Ace of the Black Sox staff and I believe he was the first ball player approached by the gamblers with the prospect of throwing the 1919 series.

The White Sox 60s era Outfielder Ken Berry was the baseball consultant on the Film and stated that David Strathairn was the best natural athlete among the actors.

Phungo Pop Quiz

Ok I am bumping this up and giving you a clue we are looking for a Person - C'mon blogosphere you can get this one.


1988 Pacific Eight Men Out #110 Shoeless Joe Jackson

A few backs we had the Phungo Randy Johnson Challenge and only NicoLax24 was brave enough to even hazard a guess.

I think this Pop Quiz should be a bit easier then the previous challenge and fully expect a Phungo reader to figure htis out.

Why was the above card gracing the cover of Thursday's edition of Phungo?