Maroons; the Anthracite Gridiron Plays Norristown’s Theatrical Treasure 11/4

Philadelphia playwright Ray Saraceni's "Maroons; the Anthracite Gridiron" opens November 4 at "Norristown's Theatrical Treasure."

Pro football was a joke in the 1920s. Considered a sideshow to "real sports" like baseball, boxing and even college football, it was mainly played in small towns by tough guys who went back to work in the mines or steel mills after a weekend game.

While players like Red Grange and the vaunted Norte Dame college team received national praise and were called "pure and noble" because they played for sport and not money, pro teams were like professional wrestling - meatheads slugging it out on muddy fields in hick towns to make a quick buck.

Teams in Canton, Akron, Atlantic City, Green Bay, Frankford (now Northeast Philadelphia) and Pottsville struggled to attract an audience and in 1925 created the National Football League to give the sport some credibility. Barnstorming owners still made up the rules as they went along and fought and scraped to stay afloat from one game to another.

Doctor John Streigle was one of the leading citizens of Pottsville, Pennsylvania. He had built a fortune, but a born gambler, he wanted a piece of the new NFL and created a pro football team in Pottsville called the Maroons. He hired a visionary coach named Dick Rauch who believed in passing the ball (in the 1920s the forward pass was almost unheard of), and a team of cast-offs and misfits he claimed would win it all. The established teams and the press figured the Maroons wouldn't win one game, but on the backs of unheralded but superbly talented players and Rauch's unorthodox game plans they began to win.

With the incredible running of their halfback Tony Latone, called the "Human Howitzer" for the way he blew through opposing defenses, and the passing of their showboating quarterback Jack Ernst, the Maroons knocked off teams considered unbeatable and were soon a national story - as much for their colorful and unusual players as their seemingly invincible playing.

At the end of the season the Maroons beat the Chicago Cardinals and were declared the winner of the first ever NFL championship, but Streigle overreached, arranging a game between the Maroons and the famous Notre Dame college team. The league, unhappy that the little team from Pottsville had made the more established teams look bad, took the title away on a rule technicality, and even though the Maroons beat Notre Dame, they lost the championship, an injustice that people in Pottsville today are still trying to rectify.

The play tells the story of the team: the colorful owner, misfit players and unlikely run to the championship. Set against the "anything goes" vibe of the 1920s, the play takes a hard look at the economics of sports, and what men do for their honor even against overwhelming odds.

The play recreates onstage many of the plays the actual Maroons ran on the football field, and the audience will see and feel the brute power as the quarterback takes a snap and hands off to Latone or airs the ball out to his receivers. The raw physicality of the production will give audiences an up-close view of the trenches of sports - emotionally, physically, and intellectually.

"Maroons" opens November 4 and runs through November at the Centre Theater, Norristown's professional theater at 208 DeKalb St. in downtown Norristown. Showtimes are 8 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are 22 and can be purchased online at www.ticketleap.com. Call 610-279-1013 for information or visit the web at www.ironagetheatre.org

The play's Director Doyle said the intense physicality of the show fits with Iron Age's muscular performance style. The football scenes throughout the play will culminate in the winning field goal against Notre Dame. "The play doesn't just tell us the true story of the Maroons, " said Doyle, "It takes a hard, often dark look at the inequality The Players faced and the struggle they had to just feed their families let alone field a winning football team."

To support the production, Iron Age is posting a regular production blog. Actors, the directors, local experts on the issues of the play and the playwright will share their thoughts on the rehearsal process, the themes of the play and background for the production. This resource will enhance the audience's experience, "It is like a living talk back," said Director Doyle.

The Centre Theater will host Speaker Nights during the run, one by the playwright Ray Saraceni and others by experts on football and the 1920s.

Mr. Saraceni was born and raised in Bryn Mawr, attended Malvern Prep and received his bachelors and Master degrees from Villanova University. He received his Doctorate in theater history from Tufts University and teaches at Villanova University. Saraceni has been a critically acclaimed actor on many Philadelphia stages. This is his first play to be produced.

"Maroons" has a stellar group of Philadelphia actors creating a potent ensemble that brings the tight knit, small town team to life. Luke Moyer plays the team owner Doc Streagle who risks everything in a long shot gamble to win. Anthony M. Giampetro is Dick Rauch, the visionary coach who revolutionized how the game was played.

The team is Markus Zanders playing the devil may care quarterback Jack Ernst, Adam Altman as the brutal lineman Duke Osborne, and Chuck Beishl plays Tony Latone, considered the greatest running back in the early history of the sport. Doug Green and John Jerbasi round out The Players.

The cast is rounded out by Iron Age veterans Bill Rahill, David Fiebert and Ed Hughes.

Working together the Centre Theater and Iron Age Theatre have been one of the most critically acclaimed companies in the area for over fifteen years. The Philadelphia City Paper called the companies "The area's most under appreciated professional theater." The companies have receivEd Barrymore nominations for a number of their productions including a Best New play nod for last fall's world premier of the boxing comedy "Molumby's Millions,"

the companies have premiered eight plays in the past two years including "Citizen Paine," "Waiting for the Ship from Delos," Philadelphia playwright Chris Braak's "The Life of John Henry," and "Red Emma," and Jeffrey Hatcher's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

The Centre Theater is in the Montgomery County Cultural Center at 208 DeKalb Street in Norristown. It is easily reached via routes 202, I-76, I-476 and Ridge Pike. There is plenty of free parking and the theater is one block from Septa's Norristown Transit Center on the Manayunk/Norristown line.

Call 610-279-1013 for tickets and information or visit the web at www.ironagetheatre.org

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