06:09:11 am 
Back Back Back - Baseball's Steroid Scandal Revisited
Categories: UncategorizedWith Back Back Back, Itamar Moses, the playwright who tackled the thorny question of succession among German composers at Leipzig's Thomaskirche, delves into the steroid scandal that's rocked baseball during the past few years. "Back" may seem like something of a departure for the man who penned not only the fact-based history play Bach at Leipzig, but also last season's contemporary examination of two writers' friendship, The Four of Us, but indeed in "Back," theatergoers find Moses returning to themes, such as loyalty, that have arisen in his earlier plays. Though "Back" is interesting and heartfelt, it also feels somewhat shallow as Moses doesn't provide any true answers or insights into what might make professional ballplayers turn to illegal performance enhancement drugs in a ripped-from-the-headlines play.
"Back" unfolds, appropriately enough, in nine scenes – actually Moses cheats with an un-numbered coda, bringing the play to the theatrical equivalent of extra innings, and charts the rise and fall of three players from 1984 to 2005. When the play opens, Kent (Jeremy Davidson) is facing an unseen phalanx of reporters at a press conference during the Team USA games that were marred by international boycotts. "Back" then zips forward to a weight room in a Southern California clubhouse (David Zinn's sparsely furnished, gray-carpeted playing area with an LED ticker serves the play's varied locations well). It's the first game of the World Series, and Kent, along with Raul (James Martinez) and Adam (Michael Moseley), trade pre-game banter. Adam, a rookie on the team, is a nervous wreck. Raul, something of a hothead, is aggressively pumped up. Kent, shrewdly articulate, and cool as he was under fire at the press conference, attempts to maintain a sense of equilibrium with both his teammates. When Raul starts giving Adam some advice about training and work-out regimens, though, Kent's cool exterior cracks. Audiences know what's going on well before Raul mentions the pre-game "vitamins" that he and Kent need to take.
As "Back" moves forward, Raul's erratic behavior off the field and spotty performance on results in a number of trades. Adam also experiences career ups-and-downs. Only Kent stays put with the team in California, and not surprisingly the number of balls he knocks out of the park increase each year. For the world at large, Kent's performance is explained when Raul pens a tell-all book (shades of Jose Canseco), and the two end up testifying before Congress.
Moses, as he demonstrated last season, has an ear for tart dialogue, and in "Back," audiences continue to hear his ability to capture natural speech patterns embellished with a David Mamet-like edge. More impressively, Moses captures the essence of sports-speak that ballplayers engage in when talking with reporters. Unfortunately, the plotting of "Back" doesn't have the same zing as its dialogue. After audiences have identified the real-life archetypes for Kent and Raul, in particular, interest wanes as their fates and ignominy are pretty much assured. The blandness of the play's arc is only enhanced by the glib reasons that Moses finds for Kent and Raul's use of illegal substances to improve their game. Late in the play, Kent justifies his actions by that intimating the excitement generated by his, and others', increased performance helped bring fans back to ballparks after the season-long baseball strike in 1995.
There's a sort of deliberate ease to Daniel Aukin's staging that underscores the tenuous bonhomie of the guys and the game, but this choice only means that the relative lack of tension in "Back" seems more pronounced, leaving it to the actors, who turn in charismatic and often finely crafted performances, to pump up this play that, though not a homerun, is certainly a solid double.
----- Andy Propst
Back Back Back plays at New York City Center – Stage II (131 West 55th Street). Performance schedule varies. Tickets are $52.00 and can be purchased by calling 212-581-1212 or by visiting www.NYCityCenter.org, where a complete schedule is available. Further information is also available online at www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com
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