ACT I
SCENE 1 Cut Off Man barbershop, Brooklyn, NY, 1957
Boys playing stickball hit a ball into a barbershop. When the radio plays “Did Ya See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?,” the Elder and Younger Barbers argue about the Negro League and the legacy of Josh Gibson. The Elder Barber remembers Gibson’s incredible accomplishments and describes the day that Gibson hit a ball completely out of Yankee Stadium.
SCENE 2 Yankee Stadium, NY, 1930
The Elder Barber imagines a Radio Announcer describing the epic battle between pitcher Broadway Connie Rector and a young Josh Gibson.
SCENE 3 A park in Homestead, PA, 1930
Spectators respond to Josh’s tremendous home run. Helen, his young wife, arrives with blackberry pie. They look forward to their future (Beautiful Afternoon) and Helen tells Josh that she’s pregnant. A musical interlude turns dark. Josh sadly reflects on Helen’s death giving birth to their twin children and his commitment to his remaining love—the game of baseball.
SCENE 4 Crawford Grill, Pittsburgh, PA, 1935
Players and fans of the Pittsburgh Crawfords celebrate and praise Mr. Gus Greenlee, owner of both the Crawford Grill and the team. Josh arrives with Hattie, and Wendell Smith, from The Pittsburgh Courier, introduces himself to Josh. The daily number is called. Grace is the winner; she bet 440, which was Josh’s batting average the previous season. Smith suggests that with numbers like that, Josh might make history by playing for a white team and breaking the color barrier, an idea his teammates, led by Double Duty Radcliffe, disdain. Josh and his teammates scoff at Smith’s idea, but Josh is secretly intrigued by it. Grace persuades him to consider it.
SCENE 5 Wendell Smith’s office, Pittsburgh Courier, March 1938
Wendell “Smitty” Smith asks Josh to consider working together to break the color barrier. Smith recalls his experience with segregation in college and admits that he was never “lightning” like Josh. Smith says Josh could change everything. Josh commits to think about it.
SCENE 6 Josh’s apartment, Pittsburgh, PA, March 1938
Josh and Grace, now a couple, return from a night on the town. She scolds him, describes his greatness, and urges him to broaden his dreams.
SCENE 7 Owner’s office, Griffith Stadium, Washington, DC, April 1940
Clark Griffith and his nephew meet with Josh and dangle the notion of playing for the Senators. The meeting has clearly been set up to appease the black press. After complimenting Josh’s skills, they warn him about the consequences of playing in the majors. The exchange grows threatening (Men such as we). The Griffiths pompously describe their responsibility and their foremost concern with Josh’s best interests, making it clear they have no intention of signing him. Clark walks Josh to the door and tells him, “Boy, there’s a colored facility at the top of the stairs.”
SCENE 8 Outside the Griffith Office, and Crawford Grill, April 1940
Josh, demoralized and frustrated, says all he ever wanted was his wife Helen and the game. He arrives at the Crawford Grill, where players are discussing a lucrative offer from Mexico that hinges on Josh’s participation. Smith wants Josh to stay and fight, but Josh eagerly accepts the deal (Hello Mexico). Grace agrees, “as long as it’s temporary.”
INTERMISSION
ACT II
SCENE 1 Escambron Stadium, Vera Cruz, Mexico, October 1941
During a celebration featuring Mexican music, Josh is heralded as player of the year by Señor Alcalde. Sam tells Josh about an offer from back home matching the Mexican pay they receive. Grace is excited to return home, but Josh celebrates the good life the players enjoy in Mexico. As the revelers leave, Grace tells Josh that she’s not staying in Mexico. Hattie, now with Double Duty Radcliffe, shares a joint with Josh as he and his friends celebrate “high living.” Josh complains that his head isn’t feeling so well, and as the celebration begins to spin out of control, Josh proclaims his need to go home, and then loses his balance and collapses.
SCENE 2 Wendell Smith’s office, Pittsburgh Courier, March 1945
Branch Rickey tells Smith that he is proudly ready to hire a black player for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey needs someone “with the spirit to fight back, but ... the guts not to.” Smith tells Rickey, “I may have a name for you.”
SCENE 3 An empty ballfield, Homestead, PA, October 1945
Josh, looking haggard and bloated, stands alone on a field hitting balls, lamenting that nothing’s changed for him in the four years since Mexico, and then expresses agony at something pressed against his head. Players, including Sam Bankhead, engage in a pickup game. Trash Talking Player takes a turn at bat with Josh catching behind him. The two trade insults, with Josh eventually getting the better of the situation. Sam urges the younger players to respect Josh, and describes his famous Yankee Stadium home run. Wendell Smith then arrives, excitedly telling the news that Jackie Robinson has been hired by the Dodgers. Josh is crestfallen (I got my own league).
SCENE 4 Crawford Grill (now closed), October 1945
Josh has busted into the old Crawford Grill, bringing his own beer cans. Grace chides Josh for being too caught up in his “own league,” asking him, “You think you can drink your way into the big leagues?” Josh talks of imaginary conversations with Joe DiMaggio. Grace tells him that her husband is returning from war, and that she is leaving. She describes the dreams she had of transcending her dreary existence in a loveless marriage with few material comforts; she realizes that she has to face her real life and abandon her fantasies for Josh—fantasies he never shared.
SCENE 5 Josh’s bedroom, Homestead, PA, January 1947
Josh speaks intently to an imaginary Joe DiMaggio, asking “You ain’t gonna answer me?” Josh says that he will die that night. Sam pays his respects to his dying friend and tells him that Jackie Robinson is going to join the Dodgers. They listen to the news on the radio as Josh withdraws into his own delirium. Helen’s ghost visits and the two remember their hopes for a bright future (Beautiful Afternoon). Helen disappears. Josh realizes where he is and speaks to Sam about his fabled Yankee Stadium home run: “It went out a long way . . . I hope you’ll remember that.” Josh dies. Sam remembers the fallen Summer King, who
led all Negro Leaguers to the Promised Land, but was denied entry himself. He then contemplates his own plight, and that of his contemporaries—players who were either too old, or not great enough, to enjoy the fruits of integration. The Elder Barber extolls Josh Gibson’s greatness as Sam wonders about fate, asking “Did we need to be greater men than our king to avoid our king’s fate?”
SCENE 6 Cut Off Man barbershop, Brooklyn, NY, 1957
The Elder and Younger Barbers continue their argument until the Younger Barber puts on “the damn game.”
EPILOGUE Outside Yankee Stadium, NY, 1930
Children play stickball outside Yankee Stadium. The Radio Announcer calls the legendary home run. The bat cracks and the Streets Kids freeze, looking straight up to the sky, asking “Where’d it go? Is it fair?” The kids scatter and one boy emerges with the baseball (Did ya see?).
– Synopsis adapted from Daniel Sonenberg
