It’s opening week for the 2019 Major League Baseball season.
It has become a bit of a tradition for the family to travel to SunTrust Park during the opening weeks of the season. It’s short-lived tradition mind you, since the park is only two years old.
Three years ago, we went to Atlanta to attend the final game at Turner Field in 2016, and we were back in the big city again the following April for the first game at SunTrust Park.
Last year, we made it to an early April series against the Mets, but our first trip to Cobb County will likely be delayed in 2019, at least until May.
Back in February, I got a text from Andy Daniels, asking me to go tryout for a part in the upcoming Odd Couple play, which will debut April 23.
After a couple of readings, it was announced that I had gotten the role of Oscar Madison, one of my favorite film characters of all time.
He’s a sports writer. He’s sloppy. He’s a drunk. He yells at his roommate. He’s everything I aspired to be in college.
Over the last few weeks, I have gotten to know the other eight cast members very well, and we have had a blast in the early days of rehearsing.
The full cast includes a well-casted Jath DiCecco as Felix Ungar, Joe Forrester as Speed, John Nobile Bellipanni as Murray, Luke Hargett as Roy, Gaston Lyon as Vinnie and Marcella Baker Simmons (Gwendolyn) and Melissa Baker Townsend (Cecily) as the “real-life” Pigeon Sisters.
All eight of us will be making our acting debuts in this play.
We have come a long way under the direction of the able Andy Daniels, but speaking for myself, there’s a long way to go yet.
The play itself is a classic. It’s simply funny.
Watching eight people who have never acted on stage before might be even funnier than the play itself.
Hopefully, we will not disappoint.
Surely by the time the Sunday matinee rolls around on April 28, we’ll be polished.
In the meantime, baseball season will have to wait a month.
But on April 29, I get to take off Oscar’s New York Mets cap and put my Braves hat back on.
