Under a Baseball Sky
Barry Edelstein’s note in the program sums it up: “Now, thanks to tonight’s play, Under a Baseball Sky…I know about…Barrio Logan…And I know that baseball thrived in San Diego’s Mexican American community from the earliest decades of the 20th century. It’s a fascinating history, rich with themes of family and immigration and assimilation and the forging of American identity…Playwright José Cruz González, an old friend of the Old Globe, accepted our commission and took a deep dive into those themes…talking with the leading historians of the region, baseball, and the Mexican American story there.”
The actors — particularly Diego Josef as troubled teen Teo, all gangly limbs and flailing emotions — do their best to provide felt life to this spooky story of a haunted baseball diamond, and the production — scene, sound, and light — is as good as anything I’ve seen. But this is first and foremost a history lesson, complete with long, expository speeches that sound less like conversation and more like What You Should Know About Barrio Logan Before Gentrification Sets In.
It’s a pity, because they distract from the narrative framework that González built to house them, turning a dark drama about the guilt that follows from good intentions into something closer to a cheerful celebration of the past — even as that past is being erased. Some of the characters may finish the play in a better place than they started, but the place where they interact — a trashy vacant lot with a tragic past — well, you can judge for yourself. As Edelstein notes, there’s fascinating material in this world, and yes, rich themes. But for a play with violence at its heart, it’s strangely bloodless
When
Ongoing until Sunday, March 12, 2023
Hours
| Sundays, 2pm & 8pm |
| Tuesdays, 7pm |
| Wednesdays, 7pm |
| Thursdays, 8pm |
| Fridays, 8pm |
| Saturdays, 2pm & 8pm |