Tickets are now on sale for the baseball comedy Bleacher Bums being presented by the Spoon River College Community Chorus September 8 – 11. Bleacher Bums, directed by Carol Davis, highlights the crazy antics of Wrigley Field’s bleacher fans as the Chicago Cubs take on the St. Louis Cardinals in 1977. General admission tickets are available by calling 647-6260 or from any cast member.
“This show is a classic in the Chicago area,” said Davis. “Through the eyes of the Bleacher Bums, the audience members experience a complete nine-inning game between the greatest baseball rivals in major league baseball. Hilarious characters, a stadium organist and announcer, sounds from the field, and the 7th inning stretch singing of Take Me Out to the Ballgame keeps the audience laughing all night long. ”
The cast itself is a delightful hodgepodge of seasoned and first time actors. Cast members include Bill Leitze as Zig, Martha Harr as Rose, Noah Lane as the insane Cheerleader, Julie Hemp as Melody, BJ Stone as Marvin, Jason Rockhold as Greg, Chad Murphy as Decker, Clay Klinedinst as Richie, Dave Barbknecht as The Guard, Kenny Taylor as The Mysterious Fan, and Craig Zilly as the ballpark announcer. At the stadium organ is Gwen Alexander.
The production staff chairs are Robin Henry (properties); Collin Richey Tucker and Will Golden (lights); Randy Weaver (sound); Brendon Bauman (marketing); Katey Kohler (prompter); Andrea Barbknecht (hair and make-up); Jessica Brewer (art decoration); and Jackie Davis (ushers). Bob Haile and the SRC Maintenance staff constructed the set.
“The show is conceived and written by veteran actor Joe Mantegna,” Davis said. “The play was updated to 1989 but I love the 1977 version when Bruce Sutter was on the mound and Lou Brock stole bases. I contacted the licensing agency in New York and requested permission to perform the earlier version. On my behalf, the agency contacted Mantegna’s agent and they graciously allowed us to perform this version. We had a hard time finding a script but it was definitely worth the search.”
Besides this area’s unprecedented Cubs/Cardinals fan rivalry, the show has another local connection. Pitcher Rickey Reuschel, who starts the 1977 game for the Cubs in Bleacher Bums, is the brother of Paul Reuschel. Paul lived in Macomb when his wife was the Macomb Superintendent of Schools. Both Rick, as a starter, and Paul, as a reliever, pitched for the Chicago Cubs in 1977.
For more information on the SRC Community Chorus or Bleacher Bums, contact Carol Davis at cdavis.tenacious@gmail.com or (309) 338-7698.
