''Bronx Bombers'' is a play written by

Eric Simonson Eric Simonson (born June 27, 1960 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American writer and director in theatre, film and opera. He is a member of Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, and the author of plays '' Lombardi'', ''Fake'', ''Honest'', '' Magic/B ...

, and produced by Fran Kirmser and Tony Ponturo, in conjunction with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

and

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. The play focuses on former Yankee

Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of Manager (baseball), manager and Coach (baseball), coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball ...

and his wife, Carmen, as they interact with other Yankees from different eras. It made its

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut on February 6, 2014, and closed on March 2, 2014.

Development

Kirmser and Ponturo met while working on the 2009

revival of ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

''. ''Bronx Bombers'' is the third play produced by Kirmser and Ponturo to focus on sports, following '' Lombardi'', which followed

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized a ...

, and '' Magic/Bird'', which focused on

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

players

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

and

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...

. Ponturo, who worked in sports marketing before theatre, worked with

(MLB) executives, which enabled him to gain an "endorsement of authenticity" from MLB and the

, to write a play about the Yankees franchise. Kirmser and Ponturo sat down with

and his wife, Carmen, to discuss writing a play where the plot would center around them, gaining their approval. ''Bronx Bombers'' began as an

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

production, premiering at

Primary Stages Primary Stages was founded in 1984 by Casey Childs as an Off-Broadway not-for-profit theater company. In 2004, Primary Stages moved from its 99-seat home of 17 years at 354 West 45th Street to the 199-seat theater at 59E59 Theaters. In 2014, the ...

. It ran from September 20 through October 19, 2013. Present day Yankees

Mark Teixeira Mark Charles Teixeira ( ; born April 11, 1980), nicknamed "Tex", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels of Anahei ...

and

CC Sabathia Carsten Charles Sabathia Jr. (born July 21, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the New York Yankees. He also played for the Cleveland Indians and Milwauk ...

promoted the show on ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...

''. Previews for the Broadway production began on January 10, 2014, and it made its official debut on Broadway at the

Circle in the Square Theatre The Circle in the Square Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 50th Street, in the basement of Paramount Plaza, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is one of two Broadway theaters that use a thrust stage that extends ...

on February 6, 2014. The play was able to recoup only a quarter of its potential box office take of $733,260. The play closed on March 2, 2014, after 29 regular performances.

Plot overview

The show begins in 1977, the day after

Reggie Jackson Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cali ...

and

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

engaged in a near-brawl during a game. Berra attempts to bring Jackson and Martin back together, with the help of other Yankees stars. In the first scene, Berra brings Martin and Jackson, with

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

Thurman Munson Thurman Lee Munson (June 7, 1947 – August 2, 1979) was an American professional baseball catcher who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees, from 1969 until his death in 1979. A seven-time All-Star, Mun ...

, 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' greats

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "The Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yank ...

Elston Howard Elston Gene Howard (February 23, 1929 – December 14, 1980) was an American professional baseball player who was a catcher and a left fielder. During a 14-year baseball career, he played in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball from 1948 t ...

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned f ...

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

, and

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees ...

Cast

Peter Scolari Peter Thomas Scolari (September 12, 1955 – October 22, 2021) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Michael Harris on ''Newhart'' (1984–1990), Henry Desmond on ''Bosom Buddies'' (1980–1982) and Wayne Szalinski on ''Hone ...

and Tracy Shayne starred as Yogi Berra and his wife, Carmen. Scolari and Shayne were married in 2013. Richard Topol and

Wendy Makkena Wendy Rosenberg Makkena (born October 4, 1958) is an American actress best known for playing Sister Mary Robert in the film ''Sister Act'' (1992) and its sequel '' Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit'' (1993) and numerous other roles in film and tel ...

played Yogi and Carmen Berra in the Off-Broadway production.

Joe Pantoliano Joseph Peter Pantoliano (born September 12, 1951) is an American character actor who has appeared in over 150 films, television and stage productions. After his early roles in the television series ''M*A*S*H'' and the 1983 comedy ''Risky Busin ...

was cast in the role of Yogi Berra for the Broadway production, but he dropped out during rehearsals due to "creative differences". The play features cameos of other famous Yankees. In both the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions,

C. J. Wilson Christopher John Wilson (born November 18, 1980) is an American auto racing team owner and former professional baseball pitcher. Wilson pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers from 2005 to 2011 and the Los Angeles Angel ...

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 Keith Nobbs (born April 9, 1979) is an American stage, television, and film actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of Joey "Ice Cream" in the TV series ''The Black Donnellys''. Life and career A graduate of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High Scho ...

played Martin, and John Wernke played Gehrig.

References

External links

Internet Broadway Database Listing
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bronx Bombers 2014 plays Plays by Eric Simonson Broadway plays Works about the New York Yankees Biographical plays about sportspeople Plays based on real people Cultural depictions of Babe Ruth Cultural depictions of Joe DiMaggio Cultural depictions of baseball players Plays set in the United States