By Ernest Kearney — For those of you who are unschooled in America’s favorite pastime, Van Lingle Mungo was a Major League pitcher who played with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1931 to 1941 and then with the New York Giants till the end of his career soon after the end of World War Two.
Mungo’s claim to fame off the pitcher’s plate can be found in the famous quote by Casey Stengel who was his manager on the Dodgers:
“Mungo and I got along just fine. I won’t stand for no nonsense, and then I duck.”
Mungo was the hard-drinking, two-fisted kinda guy who sports writers love for the copy they provide.
Written by Marc Peter Reyna and James Harmon Brown Mungo! finds the ball player’s ghost visiting Goob’s Bar and Grill, in his home town of Pageland, South Carolina, which still celebrates his birthday and draws on his presence.
The play is a solid piece of writing, entertaining and informative. The only fault that one can find is that it hasn’t fashioned the hook to bring in those with little interest in sports.
Directed by George Lockwood with craft and intelligence and featuring a strong and engaging performance by the playwright Reyna as Mungo the piece has pathos and potency.
And handing out boxes of Cracker Jacks as the audience leaves the theater ensures this production a GOLD MEDAL.
David Kitch served as producer.
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Mungo! played during Fringe 2017 at The Complex in Hollywood
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