Arts & Entertainment
Bleacher Bums
Geneva playhouse kicks off season with Bleacher Bums
GENEVA – There is a place where the sun always shines, beer and frosty malts flow, work is a dirty word and the Chicago Cubs still lose.
It’s Wrigley Field, and that shrine to fun and frustration will be transported to Geneva for three weekends in September.
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The Geneva Underground Playhouse presents Bleacher Bums, the play about a day in the life of Wrigley Field’s outfield bleachers, from Sept. 9 through 25 at the theater, 524 W. State St., downtown here.
The show was conceived by Joe Mantegna and written by him and other members of Chicago’s Organic Theater Company in the 1970s. It was first performed by the Organic Theater in 1977.
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The version GUP presents was re-written in 1998 by some of the original authors. It mentions such Cub legends as Sammy Sosa and Mark Grace, and some other not-so-iconic Cubs as Jeff Blauser and Scott Servais. It even includes a Cub still on the team today.
The show revolves around a game between the Cubs and their hated rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, on a sunny afternoon in the right-centerfield bleachers.
The show is directed by Steve Lord, a GUP board member who recently also directed the Geneva 150th Demisemiseptcentennial Extravatacular, the show celebrating the city’s 150th anniversary.
“This is truly a labor of love for me, as a Cub fan since the mid-1960s,” says Lord. “The play is true to its 1998 time setting, so it’s not only fun but nostalgic for Cub fans.”
Acting in the ensemble show are: Malina Phetchanpheng, Tom Lord, Keith Laug, Dan Perry, Jim Leo, Scott Surowiecki, Ryan Barabasz, Donna Latham, Melinda Bossenga, Joseph Greiter and Danny Schwartz.
The show is the kick-off of the third season for the Geneva Underground Playhouse, which has presented comedies, dramas and musicals, since 2009. The theater also hosts productions by other companies, comedy groups, musicians and any number of other entertainers.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and students. They are available online, at guptheatre.org, using a credit card, or at the box office using cash or check. To make a reservation, call 630-677-1725. Also call or check the website for further information.
The theater thanks its ongoing sponsors, Fagans, Inc., of Geneva, and the Geneva Cultural Arts Commission.
