REPaloud Series to Feature Take Me Out 8/27-28

Tennessee Repertory Theatre recently announced plans for REPaloud, the popular play reading series which highlights contemporary plays. The first staged reading of the 2010-11 season will be Richard Greenberg's Take Me Out, winner of the 2003 Tony Award for Best Play. REPaloud will take place on August 27-28 at 7:00 pm atTennessee Rep's Rehearsal Hall (NPT Studio A, 161 Rains Avenue).

In Take Me Out, Darren Lemming--the star centerfielder of the world champion New York Empires--is young, rich, famous, talented, handsome and so convinced of his popularity that when he casually announces he's gay, he assumes the news will be readily accepted by everyone. It isn't. Friends, fans, and teammates react with ambivalence, and when the slipping Empires call up the young phenom Shane Mungitt to close their games, the ambivalence turns to violence. Angry, lonely, guilt-ridden and confused, Darren finds some unlikely solace in the form of friendship with his new business manager, Mason Marzac-a brilliant but repressed guy, who, as everyone around him copes with disenchantment, blooms in the ecstatic discovery of baseball.

"Take Me Out has been on my list of favorites ever since I read it right after it was published," says Tennessee Rep Producing Artistic Director René D. Copeland. "I expected to like it since it's by a playwright I admire, Richard Greenberg, but what I didn't expect was how brilliantly Greenberg has woven this story of what happens when a popular ball player announces he is gay with a genuine relish and affection for the sport of baseball. And the way the plot proceeds after the baseball stars outs himself is not what you may expect, either. I felt strongly that this is a play that our audience should be familiar with, and will thoroughly enjoy, and that it lends itself particularly well to a staged reading because of the nature and quality of the dialogue. The play is truly witty, heart-rending, and thought-provoking; the dialogue is tough in some places, hilarious in some places and utterly poetic in others. I'm very excited about this one and can't wait to have a conversation with those who come to hear it!"

Take Me Out will be directed by Tennessee Rep Artistic Associate Lauren Shouse and features Tony Morton in the role of Darren Lemming.

Other members of the cast include Shane Bridges, Kris Campa, Dave Chattam, David Compton, Elijah Dies, Daniel Hackman, Henry Haggard, Miguel Otero, Josh Proctor, and Peter Vann.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre's REPaloud features contemporary, award-winning dramas. Other readings scheduled for the 2010-11 season include Ruined by Lynn Nottage (winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama) in January and August: Osage County by Tracy Letts (winner of the 2008 Tony Award for Best Play and Pulitzer Prize for Drama) in April. For more information on REPaloud, visit tennesseerep.org/repaloud.php.

Since 1985, Tennessee Repertory Theatre has been a critically acclaimed regional theatre, creating the highest quality professional productions and by serving as a prime cultural, educational, and economic resource within the Nashville and Middle Tennessee communities. Tennessee Rep produces work that is designed, built, and rehearsed in Nashville by highly skilled actors, designers, directors, and technicians. A non-profit organization, Tennessee Rep is committed to consistently delivering thought-provoking theatre each year. For more information on the Tennessee Repertory Theatre, please visit www.tennesseerep.org.

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