Dramaturgy: Casey at the Bat...
One of my favorite parts of crafting and writing a Panto is definitely the research phase! I love diving into cultural anthropology, exploring the rich history, customs, and characters that might shape the world of the Panto. For our version of CASEY, inspired by the classic poem from 1888 by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, it felt only natural to set our story during the "Gilded Age." While brainstorming about this fascinating time, I knew I wanted to showcase vibrant slices of Americana...like Barbershop Quartets...Suffragettes...Shoeshine boys...and Snake Oil Salesmen!
KATIE CASEY
Did you know baseball's history shares a link to the history of the American women's suffrage movement? Women used to attend the games to educate the baseball going public to their cause. Intriguingly, the popular song, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" contains two lesser known verses that reference a woman named "Katie Casey" -- who's "baseball mad"; when her beau asks her where she wants to go for their date, she breaks out into the chorus:
"Take me out to the ballgame!"
The composer of this well-known baseball ditty, Jack Norworth, was reportedly inspired by his relationship with suffragette Trixie Friganza when writing the song. Friganza, a vaudeville star and activist, was known for her progressive views and likely influenced the song's focus on an empowered female baseball fan, Katie Casey. It wasn't a big leap, then, to add a character named Katie Casey to our Panto. She became Mighty Casey's "kid" sister, the principal girl, who in a key scene becomes "Coach for a Day" for the Mudville Team.
NOTES on THE GILDED AGE & BASEBALL
Although baseball's origins were earlier, and its heyday was still around the corner, the turn-of-the-last-century was an important period in the development of the sport. As the country grew economically, so did baseball, bridging gaps between different communities and classes -- it served as a mirror to the changes sweeping across the nation. In this era, baseball offered Americans a pastime that represented both business potential and communal celebration. Truthfully, however, despite its unifying potential, baseball in the Gilded Age also served as a reflection of the racial and class tensions of the time...
Despite baseball's complicated history, I had to keep some things at the forefront of my brain when crafting the scenario for CASEY:
Panto is all about creating a shared experience that unites diverse communities for the greater good. The word "good" is especially important here, as each Panto revolves around the classic struggle between good and evil, brought to life by its enchanting supernatural characters. While informed by history, Panto also embraces a fantasy -- or, perhaps, a better word for it is a hope -- that our humanity can come together to overcome challenges and dispel negativity.
HOW TO TURN A NOTORIOUS STRIKE OUT INTO A WIN!
Our Panto is set in a nostalgic, poetic version of the Gilded Age, showcasing a team composed of Mudville's diverse citizens—complete with a PANTO CAT! Our good fairy has been transformed into a character reminiscent of Hal Holbrook's Mark Twain, named POP FLY. The demon king appears as SILVERADO QUICK, a devil in disguise selling a patented elixir he claims is "Sunshine in a Bottle." The new baseball park in Mudville serves as the battleground for the classic struggle between good and evil.
To address the fact that the title character, the so-called MIGHTY CASEY, strikes out at the end of the poem, I introduced an original principal boy character, a young bat-boy named DEWEY DAY, who dreams of making it big—if only he can stop tripping over his own two feet. While Casey serves as a foil and is key to the plot, it is Dewey who truly embarks on the hero's journey in our baseball Panto.
Learning the rules, the superstitions, and the forfeits associated with Gilded Age baseball helped me to craft a coda to Casey's strike-out that allowed young Dewey to step up to the plate and deliver the winning run!