Toni Stone
History has a way of being colorblind. History books have long been about one specific type or race of history and, in many cases, distorted and even left out vital portions of our history. Even Black Past, which prides itself on "Providing the inquisitive public with comprehensive, reliable, and accurate information concerning the history of African Americans in the United States," includes names of Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, and Barack Obama in their 101 AFRICAN AMERICAN FIRSTS segment; doesn't even mention the name of Toni Stone.
I'm sure it's not a slight against her, as many have never heard of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, three brilliant African-American women at NASA until Hidden Figures. But six years after Jackie made it to the MLB with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Marcenia Lyle Stone (Toni) became the first black woman to ever play professional baseball as a regular on a big-league team.
Goodman Theatre brings a masterpiece of historical storytelling with Toni Stone to its stage. Toni Stone features a remarkable cast of Kai A. Early (King Tut), Joseph Aaron Johnson(Elzie), Chike Johnson (Alberga), Travis A. Knight (Stretch), Victor Musoni (Jimmy), Matty Robinson (Rufus), Edgar Miguel Sanchez(Spec), Terrence Sims(Woody), and an incredible performance by Jon Hudson Odom as Millie, this original play by Lydia R. Diamond (playwright) and director by the King of Chicago directors, Ron OJ Parson is captivating and the blueprint for a why theatrical performances are still tremendous and worth turning off that television and witnessing the hidden gem of Chicagoland theaters.
The star of the evening is Tracey N. Bonner as Toni Stone. Bonner was nothing less than brilliant in her performance, and her combination of the love for the game where she could rattle off players' stats and comedic wit was amazing. Toni could understand why she couldn't be treated the same as the guys and rejected her mother's desire to make her more ladylike. The segregated Professional Girl's Baseball League denied Toni; however, she was determined to prove she was better than most guys and finally got her chance with the Indianapolis Clowns. One of Toni's proudest memories was her claiming she got a hit off Satchel Paige, which no one can debunk.
Diamond and Parson cleverly included intense scenes depicting how black teams endured antagonistic threats while being called derogatory names. They had to lose most games while entertaining the crowd with buffoonery or suffer retaliation and beatings if they won.
“So they laugh and give us a little bit of money, so they keep laughing, but they know it’s powerful, and they know that we know what they doin’ to us while we still steady makin’ em laugh.”
This powerful line ending Act One acknowledges that we know, you know, and we still make you laugh, and inside we are angry that you know and do nothing. Act Two continues the story of Toni and the boys playing ball and Toni's confusion about her feelings for Alberga.
The most riveting and amusing conversations are between Toni and Millie, as their awkward beginnings prove to be Toni's most trusted relationship.
The story also deals with homosexuality, male dominance in marriage, alcoholism, lynching, and adult language. When Alberga forces her to quit playing baseball so she can stay home and act like a married woman, Millie helps her through the struggles, even sharing one of her painful histories of love.
Filled with excellent stories and a tremendous narrative storyline, Toni Stone is by far one of the best plays in Chicago. And Goodman Theatre has another terrific play in The Wave, The Ripple That Carried Me Home, until February 12. Both are 'A Must-See' production.
Inducted into the Women's Sports Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1993, Toni Stone died of heart failure on November 2, 1996, at a nursing home in Alameda, California. She was 75 years old. Stone was later memorialized in a full-length biography, Curveball: The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone.
Let's Play Theatrical Review Highly Recommends Toni Stone at the Goodman Theatre.
Goodman Theatre
Toni Stone
Written by Lydia R. Diamond
Directed by Ron OJ Parson
Now Playing through February 26, 2023
