Genre:
Musical Comedy
Runtime:
120 - 0 mins
Cast:
5 male(s), 4 female(s), 3 gender-flexible
Synopsis:
"Bum's Rush" is a two-act musical comedy that tells the tale of the Dodgers' 1958 move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles – from L.A.'s point of view. It's also the romantic saga of Jinx Riley – a young PR expert who is lured to Los Angeles to work on the political campaign to keep the Dodgers out of Los Angeles. Unfortunately, she discovers that her partner on this particular project is also her ex-husband, J. Patrick Donovan – a man who "wears a smile as well as he wears a suit." Her romantic life becomes more complicated when Mike Morales – a Puerto Rican New York sportswriter – arrives in town to cover the Dodger story. Mike and Jinx were lovers in New York. She left town when she realized she couldn't carry on with a married man. But it is through Mike that we learn the story of Palo Verde – the neighborhood that was destroyed to make way for Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine. The play also takes a satiric swipe at the media's appetite for sensational stories and pictures that are often more orchestrated than real. The play even features a singing Walter O'Malley who offers his personal philosophy of true love.
Notes:
The play moves like the wind, so only a bare stage and a few chairs are required for a set.
Productions:
- Premiere, Theatre 29, Twentynine Palms, March 2003
- Staged Reading, Museum of Natural History, Los Angeles, November 2002
- Staged Reading Benefit, Theatre of N.O.T.E., Los Angeles, 1995
- Staged Reading, Los Angeles Festival, Santa Monica Library, 1990
- Staged Reading, Theatre West, 1989
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