‘Toni Stone’ holds his own as the first female professional baseball player

CHICAGO – There’s a lot to tell Tonino Stone, written by Lydia R. Diamond, currently showing at the Goodman Theater in Chicago, but like Toni’s onstage narration, it would be hard to tell it all straight. That’s because this work shows a fascinating piece of American history but with a double meaning. Toni Stone is the first woman to play professional baseball, something she’s dreamed of since she was a little girl. But getting there and staying there intersects with the reality of sexism and racism in 1950s America. The story captures the joy and significance of Toni’s influence on the game – and the business – while also serving up the African-American experience deepened by a spotlight on the mask most black people wear to make it through – and in the case of the team by Toni, survive – in anti-black America.

But before we get into all of that, as Toni would say, let’s go back to the beginning. Toni Stone is short, brave and in love with baseball. She nimbly catches and throws a few balls onstage and explains how she became the first woman—of any race—to play in professional baseball. She played for the Indianapolis Clowns in the Negro Leagues, a team that was the birthplace of the legendary Hank Aaron and also the kind of forced minstrel who could make you cry once you figured out why you weren’t laughing.

In this take on Chicago (directed by Ron OJ Parson), Tracy N. Bonner plays Stone, a powerful little “tomboy” who spits out player stats the way everyone else recites their ABCs. Those stats are her loves, a way to center herself when the challenges of being a double minority at work arise. Bonner, like Toni, looked and moved like a baseball player. She was also comparable to a woman in a male-dominated field. When did she speak? I believed her.

He told his story and the situation seemed almost impossible at times. Black teams had to throw plays to whites. That time they decided to play for real and win? They had to run to the bus to avoid a lynch mob. There were no hotels for these baseball super stars and every member of the cast had their say about how they faced the oppressions of the world. Everyone turned to baseball and told themselves it was better than the alternative, although some had to take instructions from Klan members and fool around in the sixth inning to give white customers a “show.”

The whole play is remarkable, but a few things stand out.

One, the realistic baseball diamond and bleachers set by Todd Rosenthal has become a club, a bus, a bedroom and a dream. Two, these actors somehow suggested real baseball games on stage. It was the sheer physicality of it all that struck me, with the movement direction and choreography created by Cristin Carole, a former ballet dancer. It was kinetic. They hit balls, they caught balls, they slid to first base, they hit home runs and they ran home, they hit the ground and they swung those bats like they were going to hit the ball out the back wall of the theater. They also deftly moved beyond ball moves and into dance moves, displaying choreographed routines that illustrated the minstrel but also showcased the strained, strained facial expressions that came with being forced to “clown” for your paycheck though playing a ball was your passion.

Three, Toni’s professional and personal interaction was superb and Toni’s boyfriend was the icing on that complex cake.

John Hudson Odom skyrocketed as Madame Millie, a prostitute who befriended Toni when the team set up in a brothel because black people weren’t allowed to use the hotels. Millie also wore a mask and her brief but intimate moments with Toni brought home the joys and pains of a woman’s job when her job is that of men.

Audience reaction is something I always look out for when I watch a play by and about black people, but presented to a mixed company. The initial minstrel was obvious to black patrons but not so obvious to others. They laughed. At the start. But when that minstrel was overcome by African beats and screams of terror, they understood. I had a hard time looking at the bunny because it triggers the pain, so I was happy to see the characters acknowledge him both verbally and physically. And then go ahead.

Good thing Negro League Baseball Museum President Bob Kendrick was there because I had some questions. He saw the show in New York City, Atlanta and Chicago and offered more insight into the significance of Clowns.

“The interpretation of the script, the way [ogni regista] He sees her is always different,” Kendrick explained. “I’ve enjoyed every performance up to this point, so it wasn’t any different. they disapproved of it. But this worked for the Clowns. It was controversial because the team was owned by a white man [che anche] owned the Harlem Globe Trotters. [I Clown] they were very serious baseball players – Hank Aaron was a Clown – but they also enjoyed themselves. It’s been a bit misunderstood throughout history, but the Clowns are a significant part of black baseball history.”

There are so many layers to being a woman in a ‘man’s world’ or ‘man’s industry’. There are so many levels to knowing you’re smarter or better and having to shut yourself up so as not to offend your boss, co-workers, or customer. Then there’s the sheer joy of it all that comes with breaking the status quo, with loving yourself, your life, and what you bring to the table. Toni Stone has captured all of this.

Tonino Stone is at the Goodman Theater in Chicago.