Baseball as an act of joy; baseball as an act of rebellion
The Huntington Theatre Company presents the story of an American pioneer
Toni Stone
Written by Lydia R. Diamond
Directed by Lydia R. Diamond
The Huntington Theatre
May 17 - June 16
It’s likely that you, like I, had never heard of Toni Stone, the first woman to play professional baseball. In 1953, she made history by joining the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues, the highest level of play accessible to most Black Americans prior to integration. Huntington’s production of Toni Stone tells the story of her life and career and serves to ensure that future generations will know her name.
In the opening monologue, Toni (Jennifer Mogbock) warns us that she won’t be telling her story in order; indeed, Toni Stone is a play largely told in vignettes. Broadly, these vignettes tell two stories: that of her baseball career in the Indianapolis Clowns and that of her personal life. Despite skipping from subplot to subplot, non-linearly in time, Toni Stone avoids feeling disjointed by using Toni’s passion for the game of baseball as a common thread.
Through Toni’s baseball career, we meet the eclectic ball players filling out the Clowns’ roster. Meanwhile, we learn about her personal life and meet Alberga (Johnathan Kitt), her love interest, and Millie (Stanley Andrew Jackson), her confidant. The cast is all-Black, with a few white roles, such as Toni’s childhood Irish-Catholic pastor and the owner of the Clowns, who is being doubled by actors playing ballplayers. The few other female roles, such as Toni’s mother and Millie, are played by male actors. This choice has the effect of making Toni’s position as the only woman in a world dominated by men more visceral.
The strengths of Toni Stone are in marrying the willful, joyous nature of the protagonist with the darker themes of sexism and racism in the 1950s. We see that all the ballplayers, and none more so than Toni, are happy to play ball, even if in a segregated league. They dole out humor freely, so much so that a whole scene is dedicated to yo-mama jokes. Yet this joy is played out against a backdrop of fear: fear of being denied a bed by racist hotel managers, of being pelted by onlookers after the final out is recorded. Even baseball itself, as it was played in the Negro Leagues, was often tinged with a sinister hint of minstrelsy, a symptom of deep American racism. Minstrelsy and its attendant notions of African-Americans as somehow other could too easily be written off as just singing and dancing. Toni Stone forces its audience to confront these profound forms of hatred.
Yet the play triumphs in portraying Toni as a hero, not a victim. Throughout her struggles, Toni’s passion for the game shines through. Her joie de vivre is infectious. Even her struggles develop her character, forcing her to lean on others while trusting herself rather than breaking her spirit.
Toni Stone would remind you that she once got a hit off Satchel Paige. I believe Toni Stone will be a hit here in Boston.