Roundabout Theatre Company’s ‘Toni Stone’ Play Knocks It Out Of The Park For The Negro League Baseball Legend

Roundabout Theatre Company unhinges the silence surrounding the trophies and excellence of the first woman to play professional baseball in the Negro League, Toni Stone.

With its playwright by Lydia R. Diamond, Toni Stone‘s narrative is beautifully extended by Obie Award winner, April Matthis — theatrically tying baseball stats to the ugly nuances of the time. The play tackles identity politics, and Stone’s pursuit for a seat in the dugout, and place alongside men she plays harder than on the field.

Matthis’ matter-of-fact approach towards Stone’s love for the game brings the athlete’s most-inner reflections to center stage, both personally and professionally. The leading lady’s all-star castmates Eric Berryman (Stretch,) Daniel J. Bryant (Spec,) Toney Goins (Jimmy,) and Phillip James Brannon (King Tut) spotlight restrictive barriers set in place by white counterparts and the tenacity to navigate in baseball, despite it all.

Read the full story by Bianca Alysse on The Knockturnal.com