Curveball
I’m not a huge fan of ballet, unless my granddaughter is performing, but the story behind “Curveball” snatched my curiosity. On April 2, 1931, history was made in Chattanooga. Seventeen-year-old Southpaw Jackie Mitchell took the mound against the New York Yankees, striking out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
What a story! In the depth of the Great Depression, 4,000 people packed the stadium. Times were questionable, to say the least. And what a boost they got!
The play started with the familiar rhythmic, vibrating voice of the commentator welcoming folks to the event and asking us to stand, remove our hats, and sing the “Star Spangled Banner. All in the sold-out theatre stood and belted out the familiar anthem of the United States of America. “Play ball!” echoed out amid the enthusiastic cheers at the end of the song.
Immediately caught up in the excitement, I still wondered how baseball could translate to ballet. Much less tell the story Let me quickly assure you, it did.
Against the backdrop of a fabulous Engel Stadium, dancers clad in warm-up attire stretched, danced gracefully in perfect unison, dabbing powder on their noses and checking their makeup in imaginary mirrors. The opposing team, Billy and Tommy, met the girls, who ignored them, and within seconds we knew the personalities of both New York Yankee players. Billy was beside himself at the idea of so many beautiful girls, joining them in the bar, while Tommy? Felt like a fish out of water. As did Jackie, who only wanted to play baseball, not fraternize with boys.
The courtship was exquisite: funny and graceful and moving the story forward with movement and dance and nuances. The red baseball cap was finally removed but set prominently on the stage while Jackie and Tommy leapt and twirled and pirouetted on tiptoe all over the stage. There was no mistake that love was in the air!
Billy, making progress with the Jackie’s teammates, emerged from the bar and stole the show. That man’s facial expressions were beyond priceless. Shock! Lechery! Amusement! All of these feelings were plain as day on his face. A combination of Gumby, Stretch Armstrong and a Slinky, he brought the house down as he gracefully flowed, over the stage. Tommy convincing his teammate to join him in the bar, and Jackie dances alone on the stage, placing her red cap firmly on her head as she moves elegantly and impressively across the stage, finally tipping her hat goodbye at the bar.
Brings the opposing teams, the Lookouts and the Yankees, to the stage, and when “scorned” Jackie sees her old love, she attacks him and everyone in her way. How did the choreographer do this? Grace, hilarity and perfect synchronization made this one of my favorite scenes.
After reaching full-count as pitcher, she strikes out the batter and the crowd erupts. As one packed theatre, we felt the thrill of victory, all the sweeter because of the spurned underdog Jackie.
So the story was told without a single word. And not only was the audience engaged, we were right there in that stadium.
And during this time of division and fear in our country, maybe asking ourselves the question, “O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O’er the land of the free
And the home of the brave?”
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Ferris Robinson is the author of three children’s books, “The Queen Who Banished Bugs,” “The Queen Who Accidentally Banished Birds,” and “Call Me Arthropod” in her pollinator series “If Bugs Are Banished.” “Making Arrangements” is her first novel and is available in paperback and on Kindle. “Dogs and Love - Stories of Fidelity” is a collection of true tales about man’s best friend. She is the editor of The Lookout Mountain Mirror and The Signal Mountain Mirror.
Ferris Robinson