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Hit Man: The Hack Wilson Story
By Jon Kaplan
Directed by Greg Kolack
At Bailiwick Repertory Theatre
1229 W. Belmont Ave.
Chicago, IL
Call 773-883-1090, tickets $22 - $25
Thursdays thru Saturdays at 7:30 PM
Sundays at 3:30 PM
Running time is 1 hr 50 min with intermission
Through October 30, 2005
Baseball cautionary tale speaks of a forgotten Cub hero
Before Ernie Banks, Hank Sauer, Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Sammy Sosa, Hack Wilson was the toast of the town in Chicago. After all he led the Cubs to the 1929 National League pennant only to lose to Babe Ruth’s Yankees. In 1930, he set the National League home run record, 56, that lasted until Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa broke it in 1998. His RBI record of 191 still stands and is considered unlikely to be broken. From the mid1920’s until the mid 30’s Hack Wilson was a fe ared slugger.
In Jon Kaplan’s play, Hit Man: The Hack Wilson Story, a serviceable sports biography, Keith M. Cavanaugh plays the 5’ 6” 195 lbs. slugger. Cavanaugh has the stout physique and intensity to be believable as the slugger. Told in flashback utilizing a CBS TV interview Wilson did in 1948 shortly before his death, the play covers familiar ground in the rags-to-riches story depicting so many early baseball stars. We see how his short pudgy build lead the kids to pick on him until working at a steel mill gave him the strength to hit a baseball out of any park. His determination to become a star was almost fanatical.
Wilson had a 12 year career of which he had only five seasons of super-star statistics. In this play, we hear Wilson openly and bluntly tell TV audiences about his drinking and womanizing that led to his early downfall. We see several scenes that show how all the attention and celebrity can easily become as intoxicating as the beer he drank. Wilson’s amazing stamina allowed him to drink all night and still produce on the ball field the next day until eventually the body wore out and his baseball production dropped drastically. Wilson went from 56 homers to 13, from 191 RBI’s to 61 and his batting average went from .356 to .261 from 1930 to 1931. It never occurred to Wilson that his drinking was the cause. His denial of being an alcoholic loomed large as we never see him try to stop drinking. That led to his losing his wife, son and the game he loved.
Director Greg Kolack has a fine cast who played multi roles including fast talking baseball announcing complete with folly art by Nick Brown and nice work from Whit Spurgeon and Billy Simmons. Once this work gets trimmed to a 75-80 minute one act, it’ll flow nicely. I only wish we’d get deeper into Wilson’s psyche to better understand his insecurity and his need for alcohol. It’s amazing how many baseball players were drunks, yet most had long productive careers. I guess Wilson drank so much that he self-destructed early (in his mid 30’s).
It was pathetic to see a has-been superstar struggling to make a living in his 40’s. That is the lesson here. Hit Man: The Hack Wilson Story is for Cub baseball fans. Hey, this October what else do they have to entertain them?
Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Chicago Stage Talk Radio Show
This show eligible for a C.S.T. Non-Equity Theatre Award
September 29, 2005
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