There's NO Yankees like SHOW Yankees, there's NO Yankees I know...

The "Bronx Bombers" opened on Broadway last week, and from the sounds of things, it's meant to appeal to the kind of soft-headed Yankee fan who always cheers when the team trades three young prospects for a former all-star. I dunno what to make of it, except I doubt there are any jokes about Slade Heathcott.

I think an edgier show about the Yankees could have been titled:

a) A Boras Line
b) My Fair Yogi
c) La Cage aux Farnsworth
d) Man of La Munson
e) Fiddler on the Ruth
f) Pipp In. (Think of the showstopping song: "Hello, Wally, this is Lou, Wally...")

I don't mean to condemn what I haven't seen. (That's a policy switch, BTW.) But in my life, I've learned to be leery of flag-waving super-patriots, country-western singers in cowboy hats, weekend warrior lawyers who play rugby, people who lecture you about politics based on TV and radio talk shows, and fans who dress themselves head to foot in Yankee swag, sit in luxury boxes and then whisper, "Which one is A-Rod?"

Sounds like that's the crowd here. But I could be wrong. I dunno. I'm still trying to rid my head of La Cage aux Farnsworth. Anyway... some observations.

Wall Street Journal: "


Of course, the audience doesn't seem to mind. Last Wednesday, the occasional Yankee cap could be spotted in the crowd, and a few team jerseys mixed in with the sweater vests of the theatergoing crowd, with Steiner Sports predictably hawking Yankee memorabilia in the lobby. They applauded the entrance of each luminary Yankee, and roared when the team's logo came to the fore at the end. And why not? The play aims to please them at every turn, pointing out to the paying customers that "it's about the people, not the building," as they tear down the beloved old Yankee Stadium (wonder if the Yankees made sure that one was slipped in?)  

New York Times: 

The play opened Thursday at Circle in the Square, where the lobby is filled with oversize photographs of Yankees and steeply priced signed memorabilia. The theater in the round is ringed by a fiber-wood copy of the Yankee Stadium facade. And some fans came dressed as if to a game, in Yankees jerseys and jackets, sat in old Yankee Stadium chairs and posed in front of replica lockers.

Variety

These Olympian immortals don’t actually say or do much of dramatic note in a play that’s noticeably lacking in drama.   But it’s interesting to get their perspectives on the vicissitudes of big league baseball over the years.  Mickey Mantle, for example, blames the Sixties for the seismic shift when ballplayers went from playing on teams to performing as personalities.  But their collective presence is enough to reassure Yogi that they embody the spirit of the Yankees and that spirit will live on forever.  And maybe that’s all it takes to make the fans happy.