Although the seasonal timing is perfect for a play about baseball, Rebecca Gilman's The Sweetest Swing in Baseball has little to do with America's favorite sport. Instead, it gets into the head of a well-known painter and explores how creativity can be stymied by commercialism.
The play begins with Dana, the artist, hiding in the back of an art gallery. It's the opening of her latest show. The event is bombing, and she knows it. She can't face the crowd, preferring to sip glass after glass of wine in the back room. After the show, Dana deteriorates to the point where she tries to commit suicide. This lands her in a sanitarium. At first, she is frightened by her co-inmates, which include a sociopath and an alcoholic. However, she eventually relaxes to the point where she finds the place to be a sanctuary.
When her insurance company threatens to have her kicked out, she assumes an alter identity. In this case, she picks baseball great Darryl Strawberry. Although Dana knows basically nothing about Strawberry or baseball, she is successful in getting a reprieve from being discharged. Happily, she begins to paint again. Her work is so good that it ends up in another art show. Although Dana must resume her former life, she has learned enough about herself to cope with the stresses she must face. Or has she?
The playwright, Rebecca Gilman, takes the audience on an interesting journey, filled with infinite twists. Her dark humor permeates The Sweetest Swing in Baseball. For instance, when the sociopath a sort of idiot savant tells Dana about Strawberry's batting average, she responds, "is that good?" In the playwright's world, sociopaths and alcoholics can turn out to be wise and wonderful friends. Art dealers and gallery owners, however, are basically the bad guys. They are the "middlemen" who parasitically feed on the artists they represent. They sap an artist of his/her creativity, to the point where the artist no longer can produce.
There's also a long-term boyfriend in the picture. He ends up being neither good nor bad. He is concerned about Dana, but his sense of self-preservation makes him keep his distance. He has strong doubts about Dana's ability to "connect" with another person.
In Sweetest Swing, the playwright weaves a brilliantly crafted story. Her other noteworthy professional credits include Spinning Into Butter, which was made into a 2009 film starring Sarah Jessica Parker. Other works include Boy Gets Girl and The Crowd You're In With. Her newest play, A True History of the Johnstown Flood, premiered at Chicago's Goodman Theatre earlier this year.
The cast and director all hit home runs in this production of Swing. Mary MacDonald Kerr offers a captivating performance as Dana. She plays her part head-on, whether she looks disheveled and disoriented, or perky and beaming with painterly pride. It is an amazingly honest performance that puts the audience squarely in Dana's dugout.
The other actors play wonderfully off of MacDonald Kerr's performance. Peter Reeves portrays both the boyfriend and the sociopath. Since the sociopath has the larger part, Reeves can be as offbeat or as savvy as he wishes. His character certainly knows the mental-health system to a tee, and gives Dana pointers on sanitarium protocol.
A second inmate who dispenses advice is Michael, the alcoholic (Nicholas Harazin). Although he seems unable to cure his own battle with the bottle, Michael is Dana's staunchest supporter.
Actor Laura Gray is consistently delightful as Rhonda, the mouthy, shrill gallery owner (or "gallerist," as she calls herself). As the imperious Rhonda, Gray attempts to defend her position in the artistic food chain while Dana cuts her down to size. It is a delicious scene.
Finally, veteran actor Linda Stephens brings warmth, clarity and vulnerability to the character of Erica, Dana's art dealer. Despite Erica's efforts to cheer Dana both before and after her suicide attempt, she is treated rather harshly. Crestfallen (but not surprised; she is used to artists' temperaments), Erica nonetheless continues to champion Dana's work. Stephens demonstrates how a dealer must fill many roles including mother hen with her protégés.
The production's design elements include an all-white set, punctuated by bursts of colorful light. Tables, chairs and other props are also white. They are assembled and disassembled as needed. One might interpret this as Dana's colorless world, or her disintegrating mental condition. Or it might represent the audience members' need to "fill in the pieces" and find their own place in the story. In any event, Milwaukee Chamber Theater closes its current season on a high note with this production, which expertly combines sad, silly, tragic and comic moments with a painterly flair.
