The Casey Company Proudly Presents, Casey At The Bat!

Marilyn Magness
(Creative Director)

Marilyn's theatrical credits include the first Broadway revival and national tour of "Peter Pan" starring Cathy Rigby, the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular for the late, great Robert F. Jani, Emmy-Award winning holiday specials for ABC, two memorable presidential inaugurations, multiple Super Bowl and Olympic extravaganzas, creative direction of the some of world’s most renowned special events, and the writing and direction of "Rosie the Riveter" - an original World War II musical. Marilyn is proud to be working with the world-class elite Disney Creative Entertainment team in the production of family entertainment world wide.

Tom Child
(Book and Lyrics)

In his ten years as the senior staff writer at Disneyland, Tom wrote dozens of Disney tunes and reinvented theme park entertainment with his Broadway-style shows featuring original stories and lyrics. Tom participated in the birth of Disney's first smash Broadway hit, Beauty and the Beast as a member of the original creative team. Since then Tom has written scripts, songs, and stories for literally hundreds of shows and events around the world, including Olympic spectaculars, parades, television, CDs and even museums. To Tom, it's all storytelling.

Gordon Goodwin
(Music)

Gordon is the Grammy winning leader of one of the most acclaimed big bands on the music scene today, Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, which has recorded and performed with such artists as Johnny Mathis, Brian McKnight, Dianne Reeves, Take 6, Patti Austin, David Sanborn and Dave Koz. Gordon has won three Emmy awards for his composing work on the Warner Bros. animation series Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain, and has garnered 7 Grammy nominations, with one win, for his work on the Pixar film, The Incredibles.

Steve Carroll
(Producer)

Steve is an award winning creative director and event producer, with a strong background and life long commitment to family entertainment. With twenty five years of Disney Entertainment experience, and an entrepreneurial spirit, Steve's varied producing career highlights include two Super Bowl Halftime Shows, World Cup Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Olympic event entertainment as well as film premiers, press parties, and large scale sports-entertainment extravaganzas.

Frank Deford (Casey on the Loose) is one of the most versatile writers in America, with work appearing in virtually every medium – film, television, radio, magazines and books; his fifteenth, The Entitled, was recently published to rave reviews. Called “the world’s greatest sportswriter by GQ Magazine, Frank was elected to the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters, and voted by his peers as U.S. Sportswriter of the Year six times. Twice Frank was voted Magazine Writer of The Year by the Washington Journalism Review, and has won both an Emmy and a George Foster Peabody Award for broadcasting.

Like every U.S. ballgame, the show begins with a c’mon-and-get-up-out-of-yer-seats “Star Spangled Banner” and a “Play Ball!” from the umpire. Then it's off to the races with a rousing “Overture”…and darned if the conductor isn’t wearing a mask and chest protector!

The show begins in a slo-mo tableau (“The Poem—Part 1”) that reminds us of the sad conclusion of the classic poem "Casey At The Bat"-- Casey's final strikeout. Author Ernest Thayer appears, welcomes the audience, and explains the poem didn't tell the whole story of Timothy Casey. Turns out Thayer was there, in Mudville, the day Casey got thrown off the train.

With those words the small-town of Mudville, U.S.A. materializes, and Timothy Casey makes his appearance. A strapping, charming, confident rogue, Casey announces his attentions to try his luck in Mudville (“Here”) while at the same time demonstrating an uncanny ability to hit a baseball in a tryout in front of Mudville Mudhen team owner Cyrus Weatherly, his young son PeeWee, and most of the town. Afterward, town banker Chester Drinkwater tries to squelch Weatherly’s excitement over his new player by reminding Weatherly of his dire financial straits. Turns out Weatherly owes Drinkwater, that is, the bank, two more payments of $5000. Should Weatherly miss a payment, the Mudhens—lock, stock and ballpark-- belong to Drinkwater.

Casey and PeeWee make their way to the Weatherly home which doubles as a boarding house. There Casey meets the three Maids -Bridget, Mary, and Margaret- and Katherine, PeeWee’s beautiful, yet standoffish, older sister. Katie and the Maids--led by Bridget, a funny, kooky charmer--disagree over Casey’s intentions (“Just Like All the Rest”). Katie eventually agrees not to pre-judge Casey and, surprise-surprise, actually warms to Casey’s charms as the young man appears to show sincere concern when learning that Weatherly may lose his beloved team. And when Casey promises to hit a home run for her, Katie—despite her better judgment— thinks that Casey might actually do it.

The next day in the Mudhen Club Room the Mudhens are pondering the newspaper announcement of the upcoming visit of heavyweight champ of the world, John L. Sullivan. Casey and Weatherly enter. The “phenom” Casey is introduced to his teammates, and immediately makes a big impression when he explains some of his “revolutionary” baseball ideas: numbers on uniforms, night baseball, songs, Crackerjack, and particularly, baseball signs (“Signs”.)

And then, it’s Casey’s first game with the Mudhens! The town is buzzing. To his dismay Drinkwater can’t help but notice the big crowd. During the game, the town celebrates the national pastime (“Baseball, Baseball”) and Casey hits a huge home run for Katie. But despite Casey’s efforts, the game ends when Blake strikes out. Blake doesn’t run when the catcher drops the ball, and is tagged out…with Casey on deck, ready to bat next.

While Katie watches surreptitiously, Casey cheers up little PeeWee, confiding about his own childhood—losing his parents, and never really having a home. The two guys bond when they sing of a dream they share: To play in the Big Leagues (“Me, The Bigs And You”.)

Meanwhile, back at his office, Chester Drinkwater fumes. Casey is filling the ballpark, which puts his secret plan into jeopardy: buying up the town piece by piece—starting with the ballpark--and then digging it up for its natural resource-- valuable industrial-grade mud. Drinkwater and his moronic crony Bickley scheme (“We Need A Plan”) to get Casey out of town. Bickley remembers that he overheard Casey saying how Mudville was merely a steppingstone to "the bigs." Drinkwater is delighted, as he sees his scheme fall into place. Drinkerwater places a call to the president of the Boston Beaneaters—a big league club- and strikes a secret deal.

Later that same evening, Katie and Casey discuss their feelings for each other (“This New Love”). Katie is surprised , because she didn’t believe she’d feel this way about a ballplayer. Casey is surprised as well. He never expected to fall in love when he
hit town.

The next day there's another game in Mudville. This time Casey wins the game with a mammoth home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. The entire town goes nuts for their new hero (“Casey At The Bat”.) After the game Drinkwater introduces Casey to Orville Pennington, the president of the Boston Beaneaters. Pennington is clearly impressed with Casey, and offers him a job in the bigs, Casey’s dream-come-true. But they must leave for Boston immediately! Casey goes home to pack.

Meanwhile, Katie leads the entire town of Mudville in the annual founder’s day celebration (“The Mudville Slide”) singing, dancing, and sloshing in the mud for which the town is famous. When Casey arrives at the celebration he is announced as the Mudvillean Of The Year...a moment that becomes awkward when Casey tells everyone he’s leaving to play for Boston. This sudden news shocks Weatherly, the town, PeeWee, and especially Katie, who angrily refuses to speak to Casey. Casey leaves for Boston, and Act One ends.

Act Two begins with Ernest Thayer announcing some big news for Mudville. No, it’s not about Casey; this news concerns the arrival of heavyweight champ John L. Sullivan, on a barnstorming trip to “fight all comers.” The Maids—without Katie, who is still mourning Casey--meet the heroic Sullivan at the train station and sing his praises (“The Great John L”.)

And that’s where Bridget the Maid encounters a very determined PeeWee. Nothing and no one are going to stop PeeWee from going to Boston to give Casey a serious piece of his mind. Bridget goes with PeeWee to get on the train.

At Pennington's office—just as Casey is getting ready to sign his contract--PeeWee and Bridget appear. In a heartfelt speech, PeeWee tells Casey how disappointed he is in him for leaving. PeeWee lays it out for Casey—how much he means to everyone, how he became part of Mudville, and how Mudville became a part of him—it gave him a home. Casey answers by turning away and going into Pennington’s office to sign.

Later, back in Mudville, a saddened Katie sings of things that will never be (“This New Love [Reprise]”). Then, suddenly, Casey appears. A chastened Casey makes a heartfelt apology that is ultimately accepted. Katie insists Casey go straight to the ballpark. After all, the potential final baseball game in the history of Mudville is about to begin!

Meanwhile, in the morose Mudhen clubroom, Bridget cheers up the ballplayers—and gets them dressed for the game—with a little sassy-lassie routine (“I Love A Man In A Uniform”). A gloating Drinkwater appears. With no crowd, no Casey, and a big $5000 payment that Weatherly won’t come close to making, Drinkwater is understandably ecstatic. Weatherly responds by kicking Drinkwater out of the clubroom, reminding the evil banker that he owns the ballpark until the game’s final out.

And just then... Casey shows up! Casey apologizes to his teammates and Weatherly, produces a wedding ring, and asks Weatherly for Katie's hand in marriage. Weatherly gives it gladly, but explains that it’s too late for the team—he’ll never make the final $5000 payment. As the game is about to begin, Casey spots the newspaper announcement of John L. Sullivan’s “taking on all comers” in Mudville and heads for the saloon where the champ is holding court.

In the saloon Casey challenges the famously unbeaten champ and is given 100-to-1 odds, with the $50 wedding ring as collateral. With Thayer as referee, Casey wins in a surprising victory (“The Fight”) and leaves the saloon with $5000.

But Bickley saw the fight, and rushes back to Drinkwater with the news of Casey’s $5000. An irate Drinkwater tells Bickley to kidnap Katie at gunpoint and bring her to the office. Drinkwater exits to find Weatherly and strike yet another sneaky new deal.

The game is on, it’s in the eight inning, and Mudville is losing, 4-2. During a time-out Drinkwater now proposes a new deal with Weatherly: A winner-take-all bet. If the Mudhens win the final game, Weatherly keeps the team. If the Mudhens lose, Drinkwater gets the team. A surprised Weatherly--with nothing to lose--takes the bet, knowing that his chances are great with Casey on the field.