INTERVIEW: Tony nominee Michael Oberholtzer on his ‘Take Me Out’ journey
Photo: From left, Patrick J. Adams and Michael Oberholtzer star in Take Me Out on Broadway. Photo courtesy of Joan Marcus / Provided by Polk & Co. with permission.
NEW YORK — Michael Oberholtzer portrays the difficult and controversial character of Shane Mungitt in the acclaimed revival of Richard Greenberg’s Take Me Out, now playing an extended run on Broadway at the Hayes Theater. The production, directed by Scott Ellis, comes to Midtown Manhattan courtesy of Second Stage Theater, and right now there may be no other play that’s more in demand. The show received four Tony nominations, including one for Oberholtzer, his first nod in an illustrious career that includes parts in Hand to God, The Babylon Line and The Talls.
The actor has been associated with this revival for several years, dating back to 2016 or so when the production was in the early days of discussions.
“People had been kicking around this play for a while,” Oberholtzer said in a recent phone interview, a few days before his Tony nomination was announced. “But I was doing another play on Broadway, Hand to God, and I ran into Scott Ellis. He had told me that they were going to be doing a reading of this play, Take Me Out, and would I be interested in doing that.”
Take Me Out is the work of Greenberg, a celebrated playwright, who in this baseball drama tells the story of Darren Lemming (Jesse Williams), a gay person of color who comes out to his teammates and the public. He is instantly met with furrowed brows and inquiring questions around the locker room and in the media. He hires a financial manager, Mason Marzac (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), whose advice extends beyond mere numbers. Oberholtzer’s Shane character is a newcomer to the team, a pitcher who is a star on the mound, but behind-the-scenes he says hateful, hurtful words to Darren and others.
“There were readings every so often, very randomly, and they just kept asking me to come back and do readings,” Oberholtzer said. “I didn’t actually go into a room and audition with Shane, but I suppose I was auditioning every time I did a reading of it. All said and done, we probably did at least three or four readings.”
Oberholtzer landed the part, and he began his multi-year journey to better understand this difficult character. On stage, Shane opens up about his troubled childhood, which is met with sympathy from the audience and his teammates, but then he spews vitriol that is indefensible. When a shocking incident takes place during the climax of the show, Shane’s character — flaws and all — is put in the spotlight.
“There’s a lot to take away,” he said. “The most recent thought was: This is going to be impossible. This is an impossible Sisyphean battle in the world we live in today. Somebody who acts and thinks and sounds and says these things, people have no patience. They have no interest. They’re not going to care about people like that, so I thought, oh man. … To suspend people’s judgment of him was the jumping off point for me. I just saw the humanity in him. I know that might sound crazy, but I saw underneath all these hot-button things. I saw somebody who was a product of the system, somebody who really had nothing going for them, somebody who was being exploited in some ways. I felt for him, and Richard just wrote a very dynamic part. This guy kind of goes all over the place. He’s very unpredictable.”
Oberholtzer’s prediction is that the audience doesn’t know what to do with Shane over the course of the play’s two hours. The only certainty is uncertainty, and every few minutes the character surprises, disappoints and infuriates. This makes him unlikable, but for the actor, there’s still an engagement with trying to make the role feel authentic.
“I find that to be very exciting as a challenge, to see if I can hit as many notes of this guy that I believe that there were,” the actor said. “I’ve gotten some good feedback from some people I respect. I’m really proud of the work we’ve done. I think I was able to access the humanity in this guy, and I think people resonate with that.”
Oberholtzer said he has enjoyed his time with the ensemble of actors and working with Elliott, a well-respected theater interpreter. He remembers early in the rehearsal process asking the director to be included in the opening scene, which finds the baseball players lined up as the curtain rises. The National Anthem plays, and the show officially begins.
“It’s a pretty open, well-known secret now in the company that I’m very envious of all the guys who get to stand when the curtain comes up with the National Anthem,” he said. “That’s such a beautiful moment. I begged Scott, ‘Please just let me be in it. I really want to be in this’. He made the right decision [not to include me], but overall the company and the ensemble it’s a very good group of guys. I think all of these guys really shine in their own way. They all bring something very specific and unique to their parts. We all have a tremendous amount of respect for each other.”
Oberholtzer added: “Some of this stuff, in particular that I have to do, as a company we’ve handled it very, very well. You’ve got to take it very seriously, but also have some levity to all of this stuff. I love listening to this play every night. I love watching these actors continually try stuff and figure stuff out, get excited by monologues and moments. It’s really a wonderful play in that sense. There’s so much in the writing that you really can listen to and hear this play over and over again. There’s always something that kind of jumps out at you. I think all of the actors do a great job of elevating all of that. That’s my honest answer. That’s how I really, really feel. I’m backstage a lot of the play, even when I’m not on, just because I like listening to it so much.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Take Me Out, featuring Michael Oberholtzer, continues its extended run through June 11 at the Hayes Theater, courtesy of Second Stage Theater. Click here for more information and tickets.
