In the Game with The Girls of Summer

By Mike Logothetis
Theater reviewer Mike Logothetis grew up in North Wilmington, performing in school and local theater productions. He lives in Newark, but you can find him wherever the arts are good.

Delaware Theatre Company (DTC) continues its 'sports' theme with its second show of the season: Layon Gray’s The Girls of Summer. The play shines a light on the Red Diamonds, an all-Black female baseball team in 1946 gearing up for a game against an all-White team. While this is a work of fiction, Gray has rooted facets of his show in history. Winner of the prestigious NAACP Award for Best Play, this period drama will keep you wondering about what was, is, and could be.

The play centers around the mysterious disappearance of Red Diamonds manager Odessa Hicks (Kim Monroe), who vanishes just before an exhibition game that could have been a personal and professional triumph. Monroe’s portrayal of Coach Hicks is unflinching – she never seems to give an inch…until she does. She is sole caretaker for her cheerful but slow-witted daughter Lucy (Luisa Turner) and looms large over all who enter her orbit.

The cast of The Girls of Summer at DTC. Photo by Matt Urban.

The women who make up the team don’t take to their coach’s highly critical methods. Piper (Kenisha Pinckney) complains enough to earn the others a night session of running laps in the rain. Coby Rae (Maya Naasira Thompson) left a husband and child behind to pursue her baseball dream, but is a clubhouse peacemaker. New Nork native Mattie (Liana April) has men on her mind as much as baseball. Jonetta (Shaakirah Nazim-Harris) is a late addition to the squad and isn’t keen on making new friends. The story does seem to lean on some familiar tropes often found in tales of this kind.

The sparkplugs were Martha Faye (Alex Bates) and Eddie (pronounced Edie and played by Shanna Lee Hill). They have funny, and larger-than-life personalities that radiated positivity to both stage and audience. “Twin sisters” Betty (ShaTerrica Hyder) and Billie (Kira Janine Bennett) are as different as can be and appear to be shadows of one another. But appearances aren’t everything.

The story unfolds through flashbacks, peeling back layers as it moves along. Gray – also the director – hops back and forth in time, utilizing the character of local reporter Peter James (Thaddeus Daniels) as a narrator to supply just enough information at any given time without ruining the mystery. Through interviews with players, James slowly uncovers truths from inside and outside the locker room. Sometimes, those truths come at a pace that slows the momentum of the show.

Sal Rendino rounds out the cast as Mr. West, a curmudgeonly baseball executive putting on the exhibition. He always seemed to be yelling, which over time felt more distracting from the scenes.

The true highlights of the show can be found in the clubhouse with the teammates dancing and telling tales without coaches or outsiders getting in the way. They bicker and chide and support and comfort. They also recognize that their big chance is here and they must stick together to succeed on the field and, perhaps, beyond.

“Don’t let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do” – Coach Odessa Hicks

The performance schedule of The Girls of Summer is: Wednesdays (2:00pm), Thursdays and Fridays (7:00pm), Saturdays (2:00 & 7:30pm except October 25 (Opening Night curtain is only at 7:30pm), and Sundays (2:00pm) through November 9. Tickets start at $47 and discounts are available. 

The show is roughly 2 hours and 20 minutes long, including one 15-minute intermission. Join DTC for Viewpoints every Wednesday in the Lobby Gallery starting 45 minutes before the start of the show. A Talkback is scheduled in the theater immediately after Thursday performances. 

Call (302)594-1100 or visit www.delawaretheatre.org to purchase tickets or for performance information. Delaware Theatre Company is located at 200 Water Street in Wilmington.

NOTE: DTC recommends this show for audience members aged 14 and up due to its racial context and mature themes.