The Boys Of Summer, one of the best-loved books in all of sports literature and a landmark document of the American experience, will be coming to the Broadway stage in 2012. The rights to the perennial favorite by author Roger Kahn, who has been called "the dean of American sports writers," have been acquired, and his celebrated tale of the love affair between the storied Brooklyn Dodgers and their fans - which has continued for more than half a century since the team left Brooklyn - is being adapted for the stage in an exciting, multimedia-rich production that will delight audiences of all ages.
"The Boys Of Summer is a much bigger story than baseball," says Jillian Crane, one of the show's lead producers. "It's a bittersweet tale of remembrance and America at mid-century, of fathers and sons, heroism, integration and of course Brooklyn, America's quintessential melting pot. It's about youth, the passage of time and hope for the future. The Brooklyn Dodgers weren't just a team to their fans, they were friends and role models, and oftentimes even neighbors. The Boys Of Summer is a story that transcends sports; it's about triumph, heartbreak, redemption and memory, the themes that legends are made of. We're thrilled to be bringing this monumental work to Broadway."
Ms. Crane is a writer, producer and actress. Her play High Ceilings was part of the New Works Festival at the Ensemble Studio Theater in 2007 and went on to be produced at the Hayworth Theater in Los Angeles during the 2009 season. She is currently writing and producing the feature film Down, Boy! based on the bestselling humor book, and is writing and producing the feature film About Yvonne, based on the book of the same name.
Originally written in 1971 and now in an amazing 85th printing, The Boys Of Summer recounts author Kahn's experiences growing up in Brooklyn as a fan and later a sportswriter for the New York Herald Tribune covering "Dem Bums" - as the perennial second-place Dodgers were often called by their die-hard, long suffering fans. Mr. Kahn is the prize-winning author of nineteen books, including Into My Own. Pulitzer Prize winning author James Michener called The Boys of Summer "the finest American book on sports," and Sports Illustrated ranks it as the greatest baseball book of all time.
The Boys Of Summer is about young men who came up in baseball during the 1930s and 1940s and went on to play for one of the most exciting and important clubs in Major League history. The Brooklyn Dodgers were the team that broke the color barrier with the signing of Jackie Robinson, and in a reflection of their home town, fielded a diverse and colorful squad of blue-collar players from around the country that fans adopted as family. The Dodgers were an iconic crew that year after year inspired an entire nation. The Boys Of Summer follows what happened to Jackie, Ed "Duke" Snider, Harold "Pee Wee" Reese, Carl "Oisk" Erskine and other beloved players once their
Glory Days were behind them. This enduring classic is about the end of eras and a time of change; not just for Brooklyn, but for all of America.
The Boys Of Summer will come to the Broadway stage in a lavish production that will utilize state of the art multimedia to convey this exciting story. Audio, video, newsreel footage and Hollywood-level special effects will create an exhilarating theatrical experience that audiences will never forget, just as Brooklyn has never forgotten the Dodgers.
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