Hoboken’s namesake theater company, Mile Square Theater (MST), is hosting a play next week to honor one of Hoboken’s most famous claims to fame: baseball. The eighth annual “Seventh Inning Stretch,” features seven 10-minute plays all based around America’s favorite pastime. And with great comedic performances and a light fare and wine reception, the event is quickly becoming one of Hoboken’s favorite affairs.
This year’s event is held in the DeBaun Auditorium, Fifth and Hudson Street in Hoboken, on Saturday, March 13 at 8 p.m. and covers a wide range of sporting subject matter. The most intriguing story is about infamous ballplayer Moe Berg. A New Jersey resident and back-up catcher, Berg was actually an international spy who took clandestine pictures for the US government on All-Star baseball tours to foreign countries like Japan.
Bu this year, MST matched great subject matter with talented writers as well. Academy Award-nominee David Magee was commissioned for this year’s event along with theater stalwarts Constance Congdon and Richard Dresser, playwrights Itamar Moses, Lisa Huberman, Andrew Dolan, and MST artistic director Chris O’Connor.
“We have a huge party afterwards.” – Chris O’Connor
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“The 10-minute play has become a sort of a standard form for playwrights,” O’Connor said, “kind of the short story of theater.” Playwrights have been picking up the “low impact” form because it isn’t as time consuming as full-length plays, can be produced for a lot cheaper, and gives audiences a chance to take in a number of playwrights in one night.
Last year, the event welcomed over 250 guests and netted the company approximately $6,000 to go toward a future production. This year, O’Connor is hoping for an even bigger audience.
“Everyone just has a really great time,” O’Connor said. “It’s become a tradition now for a lot of people, who come back every year. For us, it’s definitely our signature event. There is some really top notch acting, excellent writing, and we have a huge party afterwards.”
Tickets for this year’s event are $25, $20 for students and seniors, and include a free wine and light fare reception immediately after the show. Order in advance at www.milesquaretheatre.org or call (201) 208-7809 for a reservation.
One serious silent auction
This is the first year the event features a silent auction with some pretty sought after items on the docket. There are tickets to see the New York Jets play at their brand new stadium, tickets to see Broadway shows, an hour-and-a-half-long open bar at Onieals in SoHo, and a brand new 3G iPad.
“We got some really, really cool items this year,” O’Connor said. “And they’re all donated. We’ve never done a silent auction before, so we were really pleased.” When asked how the company was able to get people to donate such impressive items, O’Connor said, “We beg.”
Published playwrights
Out of 55 plays that MST has commissioned for the event in the past eight years, 11 are featured in a new anthology called “The Baseball Plays: Seventh Inning Stretch,” published by well-known, New York publishers Playscripts Inc.
“I just got my copy,” O’Connor said, “We’ve been working on this for a couple of years and it feels great.” Although the company has a number of their commissioned plays published individually or in other collections, this is the first MST anthology, which will be available for purchase at the event.
Community support
Although the company puts together the on-stage production, a lot of the other parts of the fundraiser, like the items in the silent auction or food and wine at the free reception, are donated to the company thanks to over whelming community support.
“After the show, there is just all this food from local restaurants and it’s all free,” O’Connor said. “We’re very proud of it and very thankful.” He said that MST was started in the Hoboken community and that he is honored to have this much support.
“The event really helps us run the theater,” O’Connor said. “Our annual budget is a lot more, but the proceeds are dedicated to one of our productions, which is such a huge help.”
Sponsors for this year’s event include Applied Development Company, New Jersey Theater Alliance, Hoboken Brownstone, Beth Mason and Family, Paula Ohaus, Frank Raia, The Hudson Reporter, Bijou Properties, Haven Savings Bank, and The Monroe Center for the Arts.
Sean Allocca can be reached at editorial@hudsonreporter.com