| Bronx Bombers | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Eric Simonson |
| Characters | Yogi Berra Carmen Berra Babe Ruth Joe DiMaggio Lou Gehrig Mickey Mantle Reggie Jackson Elston Howard Billy Martin Thurman Munson Derek Jeter |
| Date premiered | September 20, 2013 (2013-09-20) (Off-Broadway) February 6, 2014 (2014-02-06) (Broadway) |
| Place premiered | Primary Stages (Off-Broadway) Circle in the Square Theatre (Broadway) |
| Official site | |
Bronx Bombers is a play written byEric Simonson, and produced by Fran Kirmser and Tony Ponturo, in conjunction with theNew York Yankees andMajor League Baseball. The play focuses on former YankeeYogi Berra and his wife, Carmen, as they interact with other Yankees from different eras. It made itsBroadway debut on February 6, 2014, and closed on March 2, 2014.
Kirmser and Ponturo met while working on the 2009Broadway revival ofHair.Bronx Bombers is the third play produced by Kirmser and Ponturo to focus on sports, followingLombardi, which followedAmerican footballhead coachVince Lombardi, andMagic/Bird, which focused onbasketball playersMagic Johnson andLarry Bird. Ponturo, who worked in sports marketing before theatre, worked withMajor League Baseball (MLB) executives, which enabled him to gain an "endorsement of authenticity" from MLB and theNew York Yankees, to write a play about the Yankees franchise.[1] Kirmser and Ponturo sat down withYogi Berra and his wife, Carmen, to discuss writing a play where the plot would center around them, gaining their approval.[2]
Bronx Bombers began as anOff-Broadway production, premiering atPrimary Stages. It ran from September 20 through October 19, 2013.[3] Present day YankeesMark Teixeira andCC Sabathia promoted the show onLate Night with Jimmy Fallon.[1]
Previews for the Broadway production began on January 10, 2014,[4] and it made its official debut on Broadway at theCircle in the Square Theatre on February 6, 2014.[1] The play was able to recoup only a quarter of its potential box office take of $733,260.[5] The play closed on March 2, 2014, after 29 regular performances.[6]
The show begins in 1977, the day afterReggie Jackson andBilly Martin engaged in a near-brawl during a game. Berra attempts to bring Jackson and Martin back together, with the help of other Yankees stars.[2][7] In the first scene, Berra brings Martin and Jackson, withteam captainThurman Munson, to his hotel room to settle their argument. Berra spends the night with his wife discussing the problem. Berra then has a dream where he and his wife have dinner with Yankees' greatsJoe DiMaggio,Elston Howard,Mickey Mantle,Lou Gehrig,Babe Ruth, andDerek Jeter.[8]
Peter Scolari andTracy Shayne starred as Yogi Berra and his wife, Carmen. Scolari and Shayne were married in 2013.[9]Richard Topol andWendy Makkena played Yogi and Carmen Berra in the Off-Broadway production.Joe Pantoliano was cast in the role of Yogi Berra for the Broadway production,[10] but he dropped out during rehearsals due to "creative differences".[11]
The play features cameos of other famous Yankees.[1] In both the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions,C. J. Wilson played Ruth,Christopher Jackson played Jeter,Francois Battiste played both Jackson and Howard,Chris Henry Coffey played DiMaggio, Bill Dawes played Mantle and Munson,Keith Nobbs played Martin, andJohn Wernke played Gehrig.[4][12]
