‘National Pastime’ @ McKinney Repertory Theatre
Photos courtesy of McKinney Repertory Theatre
—Carol M. Rice
As a baseball and theatre lover, I was really looking forward to a new musical about baseball. So, I was somewhat surprised to find that McKinney Repertory Theatre’s production of a new musical entitled National Pastime didn’t give us a single baseball game to watch onstage.
But that’s kind of the point.
Written by Tony Sportiello (book) and Al Tapper (music & lyrics), National Pastime takes place in 1937 during the Great Depression. WZBQ is a struggling radio station in Baker City, Iowa, and while the station is the heart of the small community, it’s barely staying afloat. The co-owners disagree about whether or not to sell the station, and in a last-ditch effort to save WZBQ (and the town) they hatch a wild scheme to fabricate broadcasts of a fictional, undefeated baseball team—the Baker City Cougars. The made-up games become an unexpected hit, turning sleepy Baker City into a hotbed of baseball fandom and media buzz.
Inventing “news” isn’t an original thing: just look at Orson Welles and his 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast of a (fake) alien invasion, or the 1997 Barry Levinson film Wag the Dog starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro, a quintessential satire on “how to” create fake news. People will believe what they want to believe, and a small-town baseball team (that no one’s ever heard of) winning games all over Europe is definitely a heartwarming if implausible story. The question then becomes: How do they keep up the ruse once events throw them a major curve ball?
The irony was not lost on me that a lie becomes the only thing keeping this small town—and possibly even America herself—alive. The show is described as a throwback to a sweeter era of musical theatre, and while the songs and styles definitely reflect this attitude, it was hard to appreciate the light side of the town’s situation, what with our own “news” in quite a state of chaos these days.
Radio announcers Marty Webb and Lawrence Pendergrass (Luke Wallace and Jimmy Teeling) start off knowing nothing about baseball, resulting in one of the funniest moments in the show. These two have great chemistry together, both on the air and off.
Lawrence’s love interest Mary McConnell, played by a perky Kelsey Korman, is the typical girl next door who’s tired of waiting to be asked out. It’s easy to understand, then, just how easily she’s swayed by the suave faux ballplayer Joe (Tyson Smith). Smith has great moves and a strong singing voice; “It Wasn’t Me” was one of the show’s highlights. As the other pretend player Vinny, Quinn Steele has some fun moments.
Blake Rice and Jennifer Becherer play the co-owners of WZBQ, Barry Landis and Karen Sloan. Karen is a lawyer who just wants to get back to Chicago; she only goes along with Barry’s wacky scheme because she thinks it will fail. Rice is charming and ultimately convincing, and the two manage to fall in love—though I thought the romance lacked enough “spark” to make it believable.
Abigail Drake plays ditzy Betty Lou, the Hollywood-struck receptionist who yearns to go to California to be in pictures. She glows in her solo “Watch Me Shine” but the song itself is a headscratcher, as it doesn’t seem to belong in the show. Drake obviously has a fabulous time flirting with all the male characters, and she’s a standout in the cast.
As Life Magazine reporter Wilma Rogers, Ava Stepanian is bohemian and inquisitive. It is she who nearly upsets WZBQ’s little gold mine, along with the boisterous Texas George Abraham Theodore Roosevelt Jackson (Mike Egan), who wants to bring the team home from Europe to play in the majors. Egan plays the stereotypical Houstonian perfectly.
The “Jingle Girls” consist of Natalie Holder, Leanne Duigan, and Teresa Miller; they doo-wop beautifully together about everything from the station call sign to sporting goods to banking.
Rounding out the cast is Tim Gilts as Clarence the Mailman. He makes the most of his brief stage time and almost always gets a laugh.
Aaron Adair directs National Pastime with affection for the bygone days of radio and nostalgia for old-time baseball and musical numbers. While the pacing, especially in Act I, often seemed a little slow, Adair does a nice job utilizing the limited space at the McKinney Performing Arts Center, which is the town’s former courthouse. Kelsey Korman’s choreography is well suited to the space and to the performers.
The set and scenic design by Teresa Miller makes multiple locations look effortless. Miller is also the costume designer and does a lovely job with the period costumes, especially the men’s suits.
Music director Timothy Jenkins does a good job with the harmonies throughout, even if some of the soloists aren’t as strong. Jenkins also leads the live band on piano, with Audie Bradshaw on bass and Gabe Dameron on drums. When so many community theatres are leaning toward recorded tracks for their musicals it’s great to see McKinney Repertory Theatre using live music for this show.
National Pastime is still a relatively new musical. (I’m not sure how many productions it has received before this North Texas premiere.) And while it has a lot of potential, there are still some plot points and musical choices that need to be ironed out. That said, it’s definitely a fun afternoon or evening of theatre, and the audience at Saturday’s matinee was most enthusiastic. Do be aware that parking is sometimes difficult around the square in downtown McKinney, but there are lots of cool shops and restaurants to visit if you get there early.
WHEN: October 3-18, 2025 (Fridays & Saturdays)
WHERE: 111 N. Tennessee St., McKinney TX
WEB: mckinneyrep.org
