The Red Skies Music Ensemble's "...historical and musical probing of the real story of Katie Casey is one of the most exciting and rewarding projects I've encountered in ages. It's guaranteed to stimulate your mind and tap your feet." Lee Lowenfish, author of the award-winning baseball biography "Branch Rickey: Baseball's Ferocious Gentleman" and former editor-publisher of Lee Low's New York Jazz Newsletter
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game: The Story of Katie Casey, Suffrage and Our National Pastime" was sponsored by the Library of Congress to celebrate a connection between the overlapping opening and closing of two major exhibits: Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote and Baseball Americana.
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game:"
|
Katie Casey’s reply was a refrain that would be echoed by generations of baseball fans, most of them unaware of the social significance of the song's rarely-heard complete verses. Against the background of the tune's Irish-American heroine, her love of baseball, and women's rights activism, this engaging show traces and animates the social and musical interactions by which the song's chorus grew into one of America's most popular refrains.
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game:" The Story of Katie Casey, Suffrage and Our National Pastime is about more than just a "baseball song". The song's lyrics provide the little known, fascinating connection between baseball, music, suffrage, social activism and vaudeville. The show includes a vivid, research-based narration, a dozen songs, theatrical roles, and digitized archival imagery.
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game:" The Story of Katie Casey, Suffrage and Our National Pastime is about more than just a "baseball song". The song's lyrics provide the little known, fascinating connection between baseball, music, suffrage, social activism and vaudeville. The show includes a vivid, research-based narration, a dozen songs, theatrical roles, and digitized archival imagery.
Shine On Harvest Moon
Norworth/Bayes (1908) Gee It's a Wonderful Game
Ring Lardner/"Doc" White (1910) Take Your Girl to the BallGame
Cohan and Jerome & Schwartz (1908) Laura Hankin as Katie Casey and Sean Mahony as her Beau, singing a tune popular at the time, with a word play on 'women wanting to vote'. Depending on lyric context, the meaning of 'wanting' changes from 'lacking' to 'asserting'.
|
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
|
2012 Performance Musicians photo:
Kevin Yatarola Performance photos: Janice Wood Wetzel Music selections were recorded live at the 2012 performance, Bruno Walter Auditorium, Lincoln Center.
Video excerpts are from a rehearsal of the 2016 performance, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center. |
Ensemble
Co-Authors: George Boziwick and Trudy Williams Artistic Director/Curator: Trudy Williams Curator/Music Director: George Boziwick Actors Narrator: George Boziwick Katie Casey: Laura Hankin Sean: Sean Mahony Ida B. Wells: Pier Morton Elihu Root: Jonathan Sonneborn Suffrage Song Leader: Heidi Hackney |
Musicians
Vocals: Laura Hankin (2016/19) Sigali Hamberger (2012) Sean Mahoney Backup vocals: Sara Banleigh; Heidi Hackney Piano: Sara Banleigh, Ed Alstrum (special guest, 2016) Clarinet: Matthew Snyder Trombone: Sean Mahony Mandolin, Guitar: Rob Meador Banjo: Leah Wells (2012) Harmonica: George Boziwick Bass: Trudy Williams Percussion: Phil Forbes |
Images: The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts: Music and Recorded Sound Division; Billy Rose Theatre Division; The New York Public Library: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy. The Library of Congress.
Copyright 2024 George Boziwick and Trudy Williams The Red Skies Music Ensemble: Co-founded in 2010 by George Boziwick and Trudy Williams