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| Foreground L-R: Ellen Tamaki and Donald Corren in BALLS. Photo by Russ Rowland. |
Balls by Kevin Armento and
Bryony Lavery, currently being staged at 59E59 Theaters, is a remarkable
production. Set in 1973 in the Houston
Astrodome on an exceptionally creative set, Kristen Robinson’s shape and
direction-shifting tennis court, it is a play-by-play replication of the
classic $100,000 winner-take-all “Battle
of the Sexes” tennis match between the
world’s top-ranked female tennis player, 29 year-old Billie Jean King (Ellen
Tamaki) and Bobby Riggs (Donald Corren) who was at one time the world’s top-ranked
tennis player but who now, at age 55, although still a strong tennis player in
his own right, might better be described as the consummate tennis hustler.
But
this work is much more than just a brilliantly choreographed simulation of that
iconic tennis match which the playwright has used so effectively to explore the
broader ramifications of both the feminist movement and the sexual revolution
since their inceptions. Thus we are
reminded that while the world’s attention was drawn to the entertainment
provided by the “Battle of the Sexes”
tennis match (it is estimated that 50 million Americans and 90 million people
worldwide watched the match on television), far more important events affecting
women’s (and men’s) lives were transpiring (not the least of which was the Roe
v. Wade decision legalizing abortion that was handed down in the same year).
The
play’s title, Balls, refers not only
to the obvious – tennis balls and testicles – but also to those celestial orbs,
the Sun, the Moon and the Earth itself, that ultimately reflect the direction
of our lives. As the Earth turns and
revolves around the Sun, time passes and values change. (They evolve or deteriorate depending upon
your perspective.) Or, as the Ballboy
(Alex J. Gould) asks at one point: “Why’s everything gotta keep changing?” To which the Ballgirl (Elisha Mudly) answers:
“because the world keeps spinning.”
Billie
Jean learns to see the world not only in terms of the straight lines and
oblongs of the tennis court but in terms of “triangles” as well as she enters
into an intimate lesbian relationship with her travel secretary, Marilyn
Barnett (Zakiya Iman Markland) even while remaining married. Her husband, Larry King (Dante Jeanfelix), fully
supports her (at least initially), suppressing any thoughts he might have
regarding the sanctity of marriage with the rationalization that “Over time,
people want to explore new things. And
it’s your job to support that.”
And
given the near-simultaneity of the Roe v. Wade decision and the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match, it
comes as no surprise that the subject of abortion plays a central role in Balls.
As it turns out, not only did Billie Jean once have an abortion but
another female tennis star, Chris Evert (also played by Elisha Mudly) once
underwent one as well. And it doesn’t
even end there: so did the Ballgirl (although we never do learn for sure
whether her unborn child had been fathered by the Ballboy or was the result of
an affair with someone else).
And
as for the “sanctity” of the very institution of marriage itself, make of this
what you will. Billie Jean and Larry
eventually divorced. Chris Evert has
been married four times (at last count).
Even the Ballboy and Ballgirl married – and subsequently divorced. Apparently the marriage center will not
hold.
And
so our attitudes toward abortion changed.
And to marriage. And to same-sex
relationships. And even to sex change
operations (ala Renee Richards). All of
which some of you will view as progress and others of you as regress. But there also were some changes between 1973
and today that I believe all but the most misogynistic among us must recognize
as progress. Sandra Day O’Connor did
become the first female justice on the Supreme Court (today there are
three). Sally Ride did become the first
American female astronaut. And Billie
Jean was paid just as much for winning her match against Bobby Riggs as he
would have been paid had he beaten her.
Balls is performed in a
circus-like manner, in part, I’m sure, to convey the carnival-esque mood that
surrounded the original “Battle of the
Sexes” tennis match but even more, I am convinced, to reflect the
playwright’s good-humored contempt for the overall human condition. Or as Marilyn expresses it: “…how silly it
all was. That anyone could make such a
fuss about a boy and a girl, or a girl and a girl, and who’s better at swinging
some wooden stick at some stupid balls.”
To
that end, the Line Judges are depicted as clowns by Clownboy (Richard Saudek)
and Clowngirl (Olivia McGiff). And two
tennis Superfans are played by twin buffoons Cherry (Cristina Pitter) and Terry
(Danny Bernardy).
And
yet, when all is said and done, it is Cherry and Terry who have the last
laugh. When Jim Brown (also played by
Dante Jeanfelix) attempts to explain away the fact that he has been arrested
innumerable times by asking “Well you try living your life under a spotlight. Wait, why are we even talking to you??” and
Chris Evert chimes in, in justification of her multiple marriages, “Yeah, what
the hell have you done in the last forty years?” Cherry’s response is clear and
to the point:
“Well,
I raised five kids on my own after Daddy’s heart attack…I look out for all the
seniors on my block…and I volunteer at the homeless shelter every weekend…”
to
which Terry adds:
“And
I’ve been working sixty hours a week at a shit job so I could help bring up my
sister’s kids. Then I looked after our
sick mama every night while studying for my masters in real estate…which I
finished this week, which is why we’re here celebrating!!!”
