February 20, 2025 • 26 mins
Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream is a musical based on the children’s book of the same title written by Crystal Hubbard. It tells the story of Marcenia Lyle, a young, Black girl growing up in the 1930s who went on to become Toni Stone, the first female to play as a regular for an all-male professional baseball team.
The Growing Stage in Netcong is only the second theater company to perform this inspirational show, so Jersey Arts spoke with actor Nyah Anderson, who plays Marcenia Lyle, and Steve Fredericks, Growing Stage Founder/Executive Director and the show’s director, to hear more about their production.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Maddie Orton (00:02):
Hi, I'm Maddie Orton and this is the Jersey
Arts Podcast.
Catching the Moon, the story ofa young girl's baseball dream
is a musical based on thechildren's book of the same
title written by Crystal Hubbard.
It tells the story of MarceniaLyle, a young Black girl growing
up in the 1930s who went on tobecome Toni Stone, the first
(00:23):
female to play as a regular foran all-male professional
baseball team.
The growing stage in Netcong isonly the second theater company
to perform this relatively newshow, so I spoke with actor Nyah
Anderson, who plays MarceniaLyle, and Steve Fredericks,
growing stage founder, executivedirector and the show's
director, about their production.
Take a listen, Naya, Steve.
(00:48):
Thank you so much for joiningme today.
Thank you for having us.
Yep absolutely.
So let's start a little bitwith the musical Catching the
Moon, the story of a younggirl's baseball dream and what
it's all about.
Can you guys sort of give me abrief synopsis of the show?
Steve Fredericks (01:03):
Sure, it's based on the book of Catching
the Moon that was written byCrystal Hubbard, and it's based
on the true story of MarciniaLyle, who had a passion for
baseball and wanted to play, nomatter what anybody told her.
I mean, she was told you can'tplay because you're a girl.
(01:24):
You were told you can't playprofessional baseball because
you're black, and it didn'treally matter to her.
She followed her dreams and herpassion, and her passion was, I
think, stronger than anything,any wall that was put up before
her, and she had the opportunityto actually play professional
baseball.
(01:45):
So it's based on a true story,and I think that was one of our
goals when we found the piece,and what really attracted us to
it was that it's based on a realstory as opposed to a fantasy.
This is something that anychild can then take a look at
(02:07):
and do further research on andbe validated in their own hopes
and dreams.
Maddie Orton (02:09):
Because, it is true, We'll talk a little bit
more about the ins and outs ofit.
But, Naya, a lot of the storytoo is her as a young girl kind
of saying to her parents like no, I really want to do this,
Please let me do this.
And saying to a scout I reallywant to do this Is a big part of
the show.
Watching this young girl standher ground and advocate for
herself, would you say.
Nyah Anderson (02:30):
Yeah, because she knew from the beginning of the
show that she wanted to do this.
This is her dream, this is whoshe is.
She's a ballplayer.
She's a baseball player.
But I think throughout the showyou see her kind of coming in
contact with a lot of obstacles,a lot of people telling her no
or telling her that this doesn'twork in the world that they
(02:50):
live in, and that's not the sameworld that she lives in.
She knows what her goals are.
She has clear guidelines andclear structure for what she
wants for her life.
And there are times where she'slike you know, maybe everyone's
right, maybe I shouldn't dothis, and then something tells
her no, something affirms her inthe fact that she wants to do
what she's always wanted to do.
So she goes back to believingin what she had initially, but
(03:14):
inevitably, yes, she's trying tostand her ground the entire
time and other people aretelling her no.
Steve Fredericks (03:38):
It's great.
So I actually I just read thebook in anticipation of our
conversation and the communityfor TYA, that you know that we
do take risks.
We take new material as well asthose that are have already
been adapted and are well known.
And so he sent me the scriptand I read it and I immediately
connected to it, because a bigpart of the storyline too is is
(04:03):
Marcinia's relationship with herdad, and as a father that
coached my daughter softball andall those and her other sports
that she grew up in, such, Imean I thought that he was very
protective of her.
Yet in the same token he giveshis blessing and that that
father daughter connectionthat's in there I thought was
(04:26):
beautiful, in addition to justthe basic story itself.
Maddie Orton (04:29):
And just to clarify you said TYA.
Tya is Theater for YoungAudiences.
Steve Fredericks (04:33):
Theater for Young Audiences yes.
Maddie Orton (04:34):
You know I've read the book but I have not seen
the show or heard the music.
This is the second productionof this show that's been done,
is that right?
Steve Fredericks (04:41):
That's correct .
It was done first at Charlotte,at the Children's Theater of
Charlotte, but only recently, sowe're really the second theater
ever to produce it.
Maddie Orton (04:51):
It's a very cool opportunity.
Tell me a little bit about themusic and how it fits into the,
because I guess it's of acertain time period, right, did
they lean into that, or is it alittle bit more contemporary?
What does it sound like?
Or?
Steve Fredericks (05:03):
is it a little bit more contemporary?
What does it sound like?
I think it's got a.
You know, Naya, I think it hasa blues element to it,
especially the one song that'sin the piece.
It has that component into it,so it does kind of tie into that
as well.
Maddie Orton (05:20):
Naya, what about the songs that you sing?
The music?
Nyah Anderson (05:23):
that I sing.
I'm basically singing the wholeshow.
There are like a few songs thatI'm not in, okay, but I think
that that is a testament to herconnectivity to her family and
her friends and her community.
But also the music is a littlebit of a little jazz.
It kind of has the feel ofmusical standards so it has like
the hero's triumphant likeending is kind of the through
(05:47):
line for a lot of my songs.
So there's a she has this likething that's trying to deter her
, but inevitably she's like youknow what, I'm gonna do it at
the, basically at the end of alot of the music.
So I think that I I was singingthrough one of the songs,
practicing one of my songs, nearmy friend and she was like oh,
what is that kind of was reallyinspiring.
Maddie Orton (06:05):
I love that.
That's great.
And I think that that's theyeah, it's a theater for young
audiences, but it's foreverybody.
Yeah exactly, absolutely.
You are never too old to beinspired.
I love that.
So, naya, you play MarciniaLyle, who grows up to go by Toni
(06:28):
Stone, the first woman to playfor an all-male professional
baseball team.
I was thinking it seems like aninteresting challenge, because
you're not only playing acharacter who is based on a real
person, but then you'reimagining that real person who
you've never met as a child.
How have you been sort ofapproaching that and, I guess,
researching the character andthinking about how to do that?
Nyah Anderson (06:50):
I think there's a level of humanity that I'm
looking for in her lines and inher relationships with other
people and how other people inthe show describe her amidst
like looking up and researchingthings.
It's like it's kind ofdifficult because even trying to
find some of the things, I'mlike looking at pictures and
trying to find as manyinterviews as I possibly can oh,
(07:11):
that's cool.
So it's like I'm still tryingto find the connective tissue,
but acknowledging that, like shestarted when she was 16, doing
this is still something that'slike that's so close to the age
as a professional, I think right.
Maddie Orton (07:25):
Yeah, this is still something that's like,
that's so close to theprofessional, I think right yeah
, like she was playing for money.
Nyah Anderson (07:28):
That's amazing, and it wasn't necessarily like a
lot of money, but that was thething that made her parents be
like you know what?
Maddie Orton (07:34):
fine okay, fine, this is working.
Nyah Anderson (07:38):
It's working, yeah, yeah but the nature of the
story is still so true, likeshe wanted to play and she
couldn't play and she watchedpeople.
Gabby Street was the guy thatwas like you know what fine
she's been.
Every day I see this girlsitting.
She keeps trying to play.
She wouldn't leave unless I lether play.
So I gave her a chance.
(07:58):
But yeah, it's a littledifficult, but it's really fun
to find ways to make it my ownbut also still make it very true
to who she is.
Maddie Orton (08:07):
Have you found anything in your research that
you thought was especiallyinteresting, like?
One of the things I read wasthat there was a rumor, but it's
like I think they can't decideif this is true or not.
The satchel, page one.
The satchel page, one which isso cool that she hit a fastball
off the satchel page.
Steve Fredericks (08:23):
Yeah.
Maddie Orton (08:23):
But I guess these things become lore over time,
who knows.
Nyah Anderson (08:26):
Honestly, I think that that's the thing that's
really nice about it, and Ithink that that's also a really
cool thing that comes with herostories or things of that nature
.
There's something that could befictitious, but it also still
is in the same lane aseverything else that's realistic
.
So I mean that could havehappened.
I believe that that happened.
Maddie Orton (08:46):
I love it.
Nyah Anderson (08:47):
I think the thing that I thought was really cool
was that she dropped out of highschool to do this
professionally, and I think thatthat's such a scary thing to
think about for myself andreally committing to a goal in
that way, and what does that sayabout everything else that
she's done thus far, and likehow many other obstacles she
(09:08):
came in contact with Becausethat could be.
There's so many things thathappen for women that are tied
to the education system and thefact that she's not necessarily
connected to that directly, eventhough she still is very
intellectual and she loved thelibrary and she loved to read
and she loved history.
There's like a disconnectbecause of the fact that she
(09:29):
didn't get the degree that theywere looking for, in the same
way that she doesn't have thequalifications to play baseball
in the way that they're lookingfor.
But she's like I'm going tostill do whatever I want to do
because I believe that this ismy purpose and this is my
destiny.
So I thought that that was likeoh cool, so yeah.
Steve Fredericks (09:47):
You know, it's fascinating too is that when
she did retire, then she wentback to school and became a
nurse.
So she actually got her nursingdegree afterwards.
So I mean that and that was inthe mid fifties she just decided
all right, I did it.
I don't know if she ever wouldget it out of her system, so to
(10:08):
speak, but she didn't feel likeshe was being respected or
getting enough playing time, andthat's what made her decide
that I'm going to move on.
But she made it.
She broke that wall.
What's fascinating too, maddie,is that when she actually made
it to the major Negro leagues,she actually replaced Hank Aaron
(10:29):
at second base, who ageneration later would have to
face his own obstacle bybreaking Babe Ruth's home run
record.
Wow, the racism that he had toface, not only the fight that he
had to go through in order togo into Major League Baseball,
but also then, years later, whenhe had achieved hitting over
(10:51):
716 home runs for a career, thehate mail and everything that he
would threats that he wasgetting for breaking Babe Ruth's
record.
So it's interesting that thosetwo have that connection of, you
know, breaking down walls.
Maddie Orton (11:08):
Interesting that those two have that connection
of you know, breaking down walls.
Yeah, it's interesting becauseit made me sort of think of the
you know, the intersectionalityof all this.
So Tony Stone is born 1921,plays professional baseball from
the 1940s through early 50s,which sort of creates a
circumstance, because she's ayoung woman, she's black, in a
segregated country and she comesfrom a family that doesn't have
(11:30):
a lot of money.
So there's this intersectionrace, class, gender.
And I was thinking about Naya,what you were saying about her
leaving school.
I think her parents areprobably thinking school is your
only way to elevate yourselfeconomically.
But she's sort of breakingthrough that and saying like, as
a 16 year old, no, I knowbetter than you, mom and dad.
(11:51):
And she ends up being right.
And I wonder is it interestingto look at a story like hers
through those different lensesof race and class and gender?
Nyah Anderson (12:03):
I think that it's valuable to acknowledge the
entire story, because I thinkthat a lot of the things that I
was seeing as far as theresearch goes, they're kind of
keeping only some of it's like ahighlight of each thing.
So we know that she got to playprofessionally in the major
men's Negro League, but it isn'tlike encompassing everything
(12:25):
else that came up to that point.
Or we're starting at 1953.
We're not starting at 1941.
And there's so much.
There's so much that happenedto her over the course of that
time.
And also to acknowledge thatthere is so much that she had to
go through to get to where shewas.
And even when she was there,she was still sitting on the
bench with people that hated her, with people that still didn't
(12:46):
believe that she could do thethings that she was doing.
They even had her coming andplaying more so for crowd appeal
, not even because of the factthat she was a valuable player
for the team.
So I think that if you dismissany part of the story, you're
not acknowledging her humanityand everything that she went
through to get here, which Ithink is also really interesting
(13:07):
in playing her in the musical,because it's like it's from the
guise of a child's perspective.
So like, even though we aretalking a lot about her being
the first girl, there is so manysmall points in time where
she's being deterred and like,okay, it's coming up because I'm
a girl, but I know that it'salso coming up because she's
black and a girl and 10 and allof these other things.
(13:30):
So there's an ageism.
There's so much that's like ontop of this thing that's
happening for her.
And then later in life to knowthat she ended up playing.
But they were like you kind ofcan't play because you're not in
the age group.
So she was like, oh no, I'm 17.
I'm not 27.
Now it's the complete opposite.
We're changing.
There's so much happening thatI think is so intricate to her
(13:53):
specific story Open doors forother people to not be able to
come in, super easy.
But they had the door open inthe first place.
It wasn't completely locked forthem.
Maddie Orton (14:04):
Right, and even when she is playing professional
baseball in the Negro leagues,people are saying that you're a
woman.
I was reading that fellowplayers were basically saying
like go home and cook for yourhusband and stuff like that.
Steve Fredericks (14:15):
And she couldn't even play that
nostalgia of league of their own.
She was barred from playing inthe women's professional
baseball league because of hercolor.
So I mean, and she was probably, you know, probably would have
been a star on that level alone.
But even that door was shut toher.
And when they did try to, whenthey initially drafted her and
(14:36):
were going to hire her for theIndianapolis team, they wanted
her to wear a skirt or theywanted her to wear, you know,
suggestive clothing as a way toappeal to the crowd, and she
refused to do it.
Nyah Anderson (14:49):
Yeah.
Steve Fredericks (14:50):
So she had that strength there.
I mean she's saying no doorsopen to her.
She didn't say, all right, I'lldo whatever I have to do.
There was a line, there was adefinite line there and you have
to respect that, that strengthof hers to be able to establish
that line, not only for herselfbut for anybody else that was
going to follow.
Maddie Orton (15:14):
Yeah, she's a really amazing person and
everything I read about her Ijust wanted to learn more and
more, which I should say thatyou know.
Obviously, this is theater foryoung audiences, but also I
think parents would really findthis fascinating.
One of the things that I reallylike about the story and about
it being a musical for youngaudiences is I think it really
(15:35):
teaches kids to advocate forthemselves.
Is that a big part of themusical as well?
Nyah Anderson (15:42):
Yeah, I definitely think so, that she is
finding her niche and there's alot, lots of ways like it isn't
like she just asks and thenthey say no and then she's like,
okay, she's constantly tryingto find ways like if you saw, if
you see, if I I'm not justabout the words, I'm gonna, I'm
about action have a plan.
(16:09):
I have follow through and Ialso like have all of these
other things to back me up.
I know how the game works, Iknow the nomenclature, I know
the structure, like she's veryfamiliar with what she's wanting
to do and there's like a verylike strong tenacity that she
has at like honestly, probablyyounger than 10.
But we're catching her at like10.
Maddie Orton (16:25):
Yeah, and I think you know a big part of the book
anyway, which I assume is in themusical is her parents saying
like don't you want to be anurse or a school teacher or you
know?
And they're talking about likeyou know, what are the options
available to her?
And her basically just sort ofsaying like I know what I want
to do and this is what I'm goingto do, and advocating to her
(16:46):
parents and, I guess, the boyson the team, because she has to
let get them to let her play inthe first place, and then to the
scout as well yeah, but I thinktoo which I liked in this piece
that Nicole Jackson, who wrotethe book and and the lyrics,
with Tyrone Robinson who didfocused in on the music, is
(17:08):
within the parents offeringthose other suggestions.
Steve Fredericks (17:12):
It's not necessarily to deter her from
her dream, as much as it is, Ithink, to protect her from being
hurt because of, maybe, whatthey faced already.
And so there's that connectionbetween parent and child.
They're not saying, no, youcan't do this because you can't.
No, don't do this because wedon't want to see you.
(17:35):
Hurt is more emotionally thanphysically.
Maddie Orton (17:40):
It's interesting because now that I'm a parent, I
was looking at the story and Iwas thinking, because they do
seem to have a really nicerelationship, her and her
parents, and you do sort of putyourself in the parents' shoes
and think, yeah, she's going areally hard path and I could
understand her parents sayingthis is going to be hard for you
(18:00):
.
Wouldn't you rather do thisother thing?
And I thought it was a reallyinteresting lesson for parents
as well, that maybe your 16 yearold sees the world differently
than you and you kind of justhave to listen.
Nyah Anderson (18:16):
Yeah, and I think that there's some testament to
seeing something fully outbefore excluding it or
dismissing it as an option,because there is so much danger
to what she wanted to do.
Like you're going to be in thisspace where people don't even
really see you as a person, letalone as a professional baseball
(18:37):
player.
So then there's all of that,and then there's the woman to
the man and the danger of thatrelationship.
So there's so many thingshappening, and then she's young
and the travel.
There's so many thingshappening, and then she's young
and the travel.
There's so many things that cancome up for that and all of
these things on top of theracism and all of the systems
that are coming against her.
So for them, it's like there'sso much fear around just being
(19:01):
able to live a fruitful life,let alone being able to live a
career that you're dreaming of,right?
I think that they had to see somany different things before
they were able to accept it andI know, like my parents are kind
of like you know, I'll let youdo it, but you have to do it has
to be the best.
You can't like this, isn't?
(19:22):
We're not just doing this forfun.
There are very few things wejust do for fun.
You have to be committed todoing this.
You have to show, you have toshow up.
You have to be on time, becausethat's kind of the nature of
being black in america.
You have to be the best.
You have to be better 10 timesbetter than everyone else to be
able to at least be considered.
Maddie Orton (19:39):
And that's unfortunate, but right along the
lines of the show itself, ste.
It sounds like you're abaseball guy.
Naya, are you a baseball person?
I?
Nyah Anderson (19:54):
am not.
Maddie Orton (20:02):
Are you faking it?
I really hope so.
Steve Fredericks (20:06):
Yes, she is, she's got a good swing.
She's got a good swing.
Nyah Anderson (20:12):
I was like I think when I was younger I
literally tried everything.
Me and my cousin used to playevery sport.
I did like karate, I swam for afew years, I played baseball, I
like tennis and golf and I dideverything.
And then I remember my unclewas like okay, let's try the
(20:33):
baseball thing.
And he threw the ball at me andit just missed my face.
I was like I'm never doing this, I would never play this sport.
Maddie Orton (20:44):
I feel like that's the theater kid pipeline story
right there.
That is, I feel like I feellike that's the theater kid
pipeline story right there.
I cannot even tell you how manysports I mean parents are going
to listen to this but cannoteven tell you how many sports my
parents put.
You know, we tried tennis.
My dad would take me onSaturdays and I would be like
this is, this is not, this isnot fun at all.
We did soccer for like a seasonand I remember I would sit
there and braid the blades ofgrass together, and I remember I
(21:04):
would sit there and braid theblades of grass together.
Nyah Anderson (21:08):
And that's like what I did.
I loved like I really lovedsoccer, I love tennis and I
loved cheerleading.
But I remember there was a timewhere I was doing too many
things and my mom was like, okay, so this, this time, we're not
going to sign you up for soccer.
Do you want to play basketballor do you want to do dance?
And I was like, oh, dance.
(21:29):
And then that was the end ofthe sports, it's just great to
dance and theater and singing.
Maddie Orton (21:37):
Well, maybe I'll circle back.
Maybe you're going to find likethe second love of your life
and it'll be baseball, and yourparents will be so excited.
Steve Fredericks (21:45):
And Steve, you coached baseball and your
parents would be so excited.
And Steve, you coached, oh yeah, well, I have three kids and so
they all play different sportsand such.
But yeah, my mostly I'vecoached my daughter in
basketball and in a softball andshe did soccer as well, so she
was real into sports.
Maddie Orton (22:02):
Nice, have you been able to be helpful with
Naya's swing?
Steve Fredericks (22:05):
No, she didn't need it, she has a good.
She played tennis.
It's that tennis swing.
It all looks good.
Now it makes sense.
Maddie Orton (22:13):
Like when you're a trained actor you can do
anything.
I believe that.
Nyah Anderson (22:21):
It's going to be on her resume before you know it
.
It probably already is on myresume.
Maddie Orton (22:25):
Oh yeah, I should say I mean on is on my resume
baseball?
Oh yeah, I should say I mean onmy theater resume.
Steve Fredericks (22:30):
I'm an excellent athlete, yeah, yeah,
there's a lot of skill sets.
I'll tell you.
As a director, we look forthose unique things and just
throw them at the actor when wetalk to them.
Maddie Orton (22:37):
Yeah, I always hope nobody's gonna actually
call me on it, but it did happento me one time I had.
Nyah Anderson (22:43):
I think I had gymnastics on my resume and she
was like, okay, do a cartwheelinto a split.
Like okay.
And at the time I was like,yeah, I really want it.
I did the cartwheel.
She was like, oh, just becauseyou were going to do it,
nevermind, I don't need to seeit.
Maddie Orton (22:59):
Oh, what a life lesson to all the actors out
there.
Nyah Anderson (23:02):
Oh my gosh.
Maddie Orton (23:03):
Oh my gosh.
Steve Fredericks (23:04):
You have to be prepared.
Maddie Orton (23:11):
Steve, I've had the pleasure of seeing shows at
Growing Stage and it is such abeautiful sort of just magical
space for people who are goingto have their first Growing
Stage experience.
What sort of age group is itfor?
What can you expect fromtheater for young audiences in
that sort of I don't even knowhow to describe like magic,
(23:32):
castle-y, imaginative, beautifultheater that you have?
Steve Fredericks (23:35):
oh, thanks well, yeah, I mean, it is a
restored vaudeville theaterthat's over 100 years old and
we've restored it to look like ajewel box type of size.
It's nice, it's intimate.
We don't usually have more than250 seats there, so there really
is not truly is not a bad seatin the house.
Everything we do is aimed atyoung people and their families,
(23:57):
so that the whole experiencetries to be as welcoming as
possible, not only for ourartists, but also for the people
that you know we have theprivilege that they're walking
through our doors.
You know, to use it intechnological terminology, the
growing stage is user-friendly.
What we try to do is create ourproductions so that they are
(24:20):
accessible to an entire family,so that, while it may be
targeted by the playwright for aspecific age, we make sure that
it's on all levels, haselements of interest for the
adults as well as an older oryounger sibling, because we want
it to be a shared experience.
That's what really makestheater magical is not only what
(24:40):
you see as an audience member,but what you share with those
people, that they're comingsitting beside you, and we've
always tried to say that ourgoal is not just to create a
moment in the theater, but tocreate a memory for the family
that sees the show together.
Maddie Orton (24:56):
I love that so much.
Well, I'm so excited for youguys.
It sounds like a reallytremendous show and, as we said,
inspirational for kids, butinspirational for adults as well
.
I think it'll be really great.
Steve Fredericks (25:08):
Thanks, yeah, it's a fascinating story and the
fact that it's true, I thinkreally it truly resonates today
and it's an important message toshare.
Maddie Orton (25:19):
Yeah.
Thanks so much, guys.
Thanks for your time.
Thank you, maddie.
Thanks to Naya Anderson andSteve Fredericks for joining me.
(25:41):
Thank you, maddie.
Be sure to give us a review,subscribe and tell your friends.
A transcript of this podcast,as well as links related to
content and more about the artsin New Jersey, can be found on
jerseyartscom.
The Jersey Arts Podcast ispresented by Art Pride New
Jersey, advancing a state ofcreativity since 1986.
The show is co-founded by andcurrently supported by funds
(26:02):
from the New Jersey StateCouncil on the Arts.
This episode was hosted,produced and edited by yours
truly, maddie Orton.
Executive producers are JimAtkinson and Isaac Cerna-Diaz.
Special thanks to the GrowingStage.
I'm Maddie Orton for the JerseyArts Podcast.
Thanks for listening.
Hi, I'm Maddie Orton and this is the Jersey
Arts Podcast.
Catching the Moon, the story ofa young girl's baseball dream
is a musical based on thechildren's book of the same
title written by Crystal Hubbard.
It tells the story of MarceniaLyle, a young Black girl growing
up in the 1930s who went on tobecome Toni Stone, the first
(00:23):
female to play as a regular foran all-male professional
baseball team.
The growing stage in Netcong isonly the second theater company
to perform this relatively newshow, so I spoke with actor Nyah
Anderson, who plays MarceniaLyle, and Steve Fredericks,
growing stage founder, executivedirector and the show's
director, about their production.
Take a listen, Naya, Steve.
(00:48):
Thank you so much for joiningme today.
Thank you for having us.
Yep absolutely.
So let's start a little bitwith the musical Catching the
Moon, the story of a younggirl's baseball dream and what
it's all about.
Can you guys sort of give me abrief synopsis of the show?
Steve Fredericks (01:03):
Sure, it's based on the book of Catching
the Moon that was written byCrystal Hubbard, and it's based
on the true story of MarciniaLyle, who had a passion for
baseball and wanted to play, nomatter what anybody told her.
I mean, she was told you can'tplay because you're a girl.
(01:24):
You were told you can't playprofessional baseball because
you're black, and it didn'treally matter to her.
She followed her dreams and herpassion, and her passion was, I
think, stronger than anything,any wall that was put up before
her, and she had the opportunityto actually play professional
baseball.
(01:45):
So it's based on a true story,and I think that was one of our
goals when we found the piece,and what really attracted us to
it was that it's based on a realstory as opposed to a fantasy.
This is something that anychild can then take a look at
(02:07):
and do further research on andbe validated in their own hopes
and dreams.
Maddie Orton (02:09):
Because, it is true, We'll talk a little bit
more about the ins and outs ofit.
But, Naya, a lot of the storytoo is her as a young girl kind
of saying to her parents like no, I really want to do this,
Please let me do this.
And saying to a scout I reallywant to do this Is a big part of
the show.
Watching this young girl standher ground and advocate for
herself, would you say.
Nyah Anderson (02:30):
Yeah, because she knew from the beginning of the
show that she wanted to do this.
This is her dream, this is whoshe is.
She's a ballplayer.
She's a baseball player.
But I think throughout the showyou see her kind of coming in
contact with a lot of obstacles,a lot of people telling her no
or telling her that this doesn'twork in the world that they
(02:50):
live in, and that's not the sameworld that she lives in.
She knows what her goals are.
She has clear guidelines andclear structure for what she
wants for her life.
And there are times where she'slike you know, maybe everyone's
right, maybe I shouldn't dothis, and then something tells
her no, something affirms her inthe fact that she wants to do
what she's always wanted to do.
So she goes back to believingin what she had initially, but
(03:14):
inevitably, yes, she's trying tostand her ground the entire
time and other people aretelling her no.
Steve Fredericks (03:38):
It's great.
So I actually I just read thebook in anticipation of our
conversation and the communityfor TYA, that you know that we
do take risks.
We take new material as well asthose that are have already
been adapted and are well known.
And so he sent me the scriptand I read it and I immediately
connected to it, because a bigpart of the storyline too is is
(04:03):
Marcinia's relationship with herdad, and as a father that
coached my daughter softball andall those and her other sports
that she grew up in, such, Imean I thought that he was very
protective of her.
Yet in the same token he giveshis blessing and that that
father daughter connectionthat's in there I thought was
(04:26):
beautiful, in addition to justthe basic story itself.
Maddie Orton (04:29):
And just to clarify you said TYA.
Tya is Theater for YoungAudiences.
Steve Fredericks (04:33):
Theater for Young Audiences yes.
Maddie Orton (04:34):
You know I've read the book but I have not seen
the show or heard the music.
This is the second productionof this show that's been done,
is that right?
Steve Fredericks (04:41):
That's correct .
It was done first at Charlotte,at the Children's Theater of
Charlotte, but only recently, sowe're really the second theater
ever to produce it.
Maddie Orton (04:51):
It's a very cool opportunity.
Tell me a little bit about themusic and how it fits into the,
because I guess it's of acertain time period, right, did
they lean into that, or is it alittle bit more contemporary?
What does it sound like?
Or?
Steve Fredericks (05:03):
is it a little bit more contemporary?
What does it sound like?
I think it's got a.
You know, Naya, I think it hasa blues element to it,
especially the one song that'sin the piece.
It has that component into it,so it does kind of tie into that
as well.
Maddie Orton (05:20):
Naya, what about the songs that you sing?
The music?
Nyah Anderson (05:23):
that I sing.
I'm basically singing the wholeshow.
There are like a few songs thatI'm not in, okay, but I think
that that is a testament to herconnectivity to her family and
her friends and her community.
But also the music is a littlebit of a little jazz.
It kind of has the feel ofmusical standards so it has like
the hero's triumphant likeending is kind of the through
(05:47):
line for a lot of my songs.
So there's a she has this likething that's trying to deter her
, but inevitably she's like youknow what, I'm gonna do it at
the, basically at the end of alot of the music.
So I think that I I was singingthrough one of the songs,
practicing one of my songs, nearmy friend and she was like oh,
what is that kind of was reallyinspiring.
Maddie Orton (06:05):
I love that.
That's great.
And I think that that's theyeah, it's a theater for young
audiences, but it's foreverybody.
Yeah exactly, absolutely.
You are never too old to beinspired.
I love that.
So, naya, you play MarciniaLyle, who grows up to go by Toni
(06:28):
Stone, the first woman to playfor an all-male professional
baseball team.
I was thinking it seems like aninteresting challenge, because
you're not only playing acharacter who is based on a real
person, but then you'reimagining that real person who
you've never met as a child.
How have you been sort ofapproaching that and, I guess,
researching the character andthinking about how to do that?
Nyah Anderson (06:50):
I think there's a level of humanity that I'm
looking for in her lines and inher relationships with other
people and how other people inthe show describe her amidst
like looking up and researchingthings.
It's like it's kind ofdifficult because even trying to
find some of the things, I'mlike looking at pictures and
trying to find as manyinterviews as I possibly can oh,
(07:11):
that's cool.
So it's like I'm still tryingto find the connective tissue,
but acknowledging that, like shestarted when she was 16, doing
this is still something that'slike that's so close to the age
as a professional, I think right.
Maddie Orton (07:25):
Yeah, this is still something that's like,
that's so close to theprofessional, I think right yeah
, like she was playing for money.
Nyah Anderson (07:28):
That's amazing, and it wasn't necessarily like a
lot of money, but that was thething that made her parents be
like you know what?
Maddie Orton (07:34):
fine okay, fine, this is working.
Nyah Anderson (07:38):
It's working, yeah, yeah but the nature of the
story is still so true, likeshe wanted to play and she
couldn't play and she watchedpeople.
Gabby Street was the guy thatwas like you know what fine
she's been.
Every day I see this girlsitting.
She keeps trying to play.
She wouldn't leave unless I lether play.
So I gave her a chance.
(07:58):
But yeah, it's a littledifficult, but it's really fun
to find ways to make it my ownbut also still make it very true
to who she is.
Maddie Orton (08:07):
Have you found anything in your research that
you thought was especiallyinteresting, like?
One of the things I read wasthat there was a rumor, but it's
like I think they can't decideif this is true or not.
The satchel, page one.
The satchel page, one which isso cool that she hit a fastball
off the satchel page.
Steve Fredericks (08:23):
Yeah.
Maddie Orton (08:23):
But I guess these things become lore over time,
who knows.
Nyah Anderson (08:26):
Honestly, I think that that's the thing that's
really nice about it, and Ithink that that's also a really
cool thing that comes with herostories or things of that nature
.
There's something that could befictitious, but it also still
is in the same lane aseverything else that's realistic
.
So I mean that could havehappened.
I believe that that happened.
Maddie Orton (08:46):
I love it.
Nyah Anderson (08:47):
I think the thing that I thought was really cool
was that she dropped out of highschool to do this
professionally, and I think thatthat's such a scary thing to
think about for myself andreally committing to a goal in
that way, and what does that sayabout everything else that
she's done thus far, and likehow many other obstacles she
(09:08):
came in contact with Becausethat could be.
There's so many things thathappen for women that are tied
to the education system and thefact that she's not necessarily
connected to that directly, eventhough she still is very
intellectual and she loved thelibrary and she loved to read
and she loved history.
There's like a disconnectbecause of the fact that she
(09:29):
didn't get the degree that theywere looking for, in the same
way that she doesn't have thequalifications to play baseball
in the way that they're lookingfor.
But she's like I'm going tostill do whatever I want to do
because I believe that this ismy purpose and this is my
destiny.
So I thought that that was likeoh cool, so yeah.
Steve Fredericks (09:47):
You know, it's fascinating too is that when
she did retire, then she wentback to school and became a
nurse.
So she actually got her nursingdegree afterwards.
So I mean that and that was inthe mid fifties she just decided
all right, I did it.
I don't know if she ever wouldget it out of her system, so to
(10:08):
speak, but she didn't feel likeshe was being respected or
getting enough playing time, andthat's what made her decide
that I'm going to move on.
But she made it.
She broke that wall.
What's fascinating too, maddie,is that when she actually made
it to the major Negro leagues,she actually replaced Hank Aaron
(10:29):
at second base, who ageneration later would have to
face his own obstacle bybreaking Babe Ruth's home run
record.
Wow, the racism that he had toface, not only the fight that he
had to go through in order togo into Major League Baseball,
but also then, years later, whenhe had achieved hitting over
(10:51):
716 home runs for a career, thehate mail and everything that he
would threats that he wasgetting for breaking Babe Ruth's
record.
So it's interesting that thosetwo have that connection of, you
know, breaking down walls.
Maddie Orton (11:08):
Interesting that those two have that connection
of you know, breaking down walls.
Yeah, it's interesting becauseit made me sort of think of the
you know, the intersectionalityof all this.
So Tony Stone is born 1921,plays professional baseball from
the 1940s through early 50s,which sort of creates a
circumstance, because she's ayoung woman, she's black, in a
segregated country and she comesfrom a family that doesn't have
(11:30):
a lot of money.
So there's this intersectionrace, class, gender.
And I was thinking about Naya,what you were saying about her
leaving school.
I think her parents areprobably thinking school is your
only way to elevate yourselfeconomically.
But she's sort of breakingthrough that and saying like, as
a 16 year old, no, I knowbetter than you, mom and dad.
(11:51):
And she ends up being right.
And I wonder is it interestingto look at a story like hers
through those different lensesof race and class and gender?
Nyah Anderson (12:03):
I think that it's valuable to acknowledge the
entire story, because I thinkthat a lot of the things that I
was seeing as far as theresearch goes, they're kind of
keeping only some of it's like ahighlight of each thing.
So we know that she got to playprofessionally in the major
men's Negro League, but it isn'tlike encompassing everything
(12:25):
else that came up to that point.
Or we're starting at 1953.
We're not starting at 1941.
And there's so much.
There's so much that happenedto her over the course of that
time.
And also to acknowledge thatthere is so much that she had to
go through to get to where shewas.
And even when she was there,she was still sitting on the
bench with people that hated her, with people that still didn't
(12:46):
believe that she could do thethings that she was doing.
They even had her coming andplaying more so for crowd appeal
, not even because of the factthat she was a valuable player
for the team.
So I think that if you dismissany part of the story, you're
not acknowledging her humanityand everything that she went
through to get here, which Ithink is also really interesting
(13:07):
in playing her in the musical,because it's like it's from the
guise of a child's perspective.
So like, even though we aretalking a lot about her being
the first girl, there is so manysmall points in time where
she's being deterred and like,okay, it's coming up because I'm
a girl, but I know that it'salso coming up because she's
black and a girl and 10 and allof these other things.
(13:30):
So there's an ageism.
There's so much that's like ontop of this thing that's
happening for her.
And then later in life to knowthat she ended up playing.
But they were like you kind ofcan't play because you're not in
the age group.
So she was like, oh no, I'm 17.
I'm not 27.
Now it's the complete opposite.
We're changing.
There's so much happening thatI think is so intricate to her
(13:53):
specific story Open doors forother people to not be able to
come in, super easy.
But they had the door open inthe first place.
It wasn't completely locked forthem.
Maddie Orton (14:04):
Right, and even when she is playing professional
baseball in the Negro leagues,people are saying that you're a
woman.
I was reading that fellowplayers were basically saying
like go home and cook for yourhusband and stuff like that.
Steve Fredericks (14:15):
And she couldn't even play that
nostalgia of league of their own.
She was barred from playing inthe women's professional
baseball league because of hercolor.
So I mean, and she was probably, you know, probably would have
been a star on that level alone.
But even that door was shut toher.
And when they did try to, whenthey initially drafted her and
(14:36):
were going to hire her for theIndianapolis team, they wanted
her to wear a skirt or theywanted her to wear, you know,
suggestive clothing as a way toappeal to the crowd, and she
refused to do it.
Nyah Anderson (14:49):
Yeah.
Steve Fredericks (14:50):
So she had that strength there.
I mean she's saying no doorsopen to her.
She didn't say, all right, I'lldo whatever I have to do.
There was a line, there was adefinite line there and you have
to respect that, that strengthof hers to be able to establish
that line, not only for herselfbut for anybody else that was
going to follow.
Maddie Orton (15:14):
Yeah, she's a really amazing person and
everything I read about her Ijust wanted to learn more and
more, which I should say thatyou know.
Obviously, this is theater foryoung audiences, but also I
think parents would really findthis fascinating.
One of the things that I reallylike about the story and about
it being a musical for youngaudiences is I think it really
(15:35):
teaches kids to advocate forthemselves.
Is that a big part of themusical as well?
Nyah Anderson (15:42):
Yeah, I definitely think so, that she is
finding her niche and there's alot, lots of ways like it isn't
like she just asks and thenthey say no and then she's like,
okay, she's constantly tryingto find ways like if you saw, if
you see, if I I'm not justabout the words, I'm gonna, I'm
about action have a plan.
(16:09):
I have follow through and Ialso like have all of these
other things to back me up.
I know how the game works, Iknow the nomenclature, I know
the structure, like she's veryfamiliar with what she's wanting
to do and there's like a verylike strong tenacity that she
has at like honestly, probablyyounger than 10.
But we're catching her at like10.
Maddie Orton (16:25):
Yeah, and I think you know a big part of the book
anyway, which I assume is in themusical is her parents saying
like don't you want to be anurse or a school teacher or you
know?
And they're talking about likeyou know, what are the options
available to her?
And her basically just sort ofsaying like I know what I want
to do and this is what I'm goingto do, and advocating to her
(16:46):
parents and, I guess, the boyson the team, because she has to
let get them to let her play inthe first place, and then to the
scout as well yeah, but I thinktoo which I liked in this piece
that Nicole Jackson, who wrotethe book and and the lyrics,
with Tyrone Robinson who didfocused in on the music, is
(17:08):
within the parents offeringthose other suggestions.
Steve Fredericks (17:12):
It's not necessarily to deter her from
her dream, as much as it is, Ithink, to protect her from being
hurt because of, maybe, whatthey faced already.
And so there's that connectionbetween parent and child.
They're not saying, no, youcan't do this because you can't.
No, don't do this because wedon't want to see you.
(17:35):
Hurt is more emotionally thanphysically.
Maddie Orton (17:40):
It's interesting because now that I'm a parent, I
was looking at the story and Iwas thinking, because they do
seem to have a really nicerelationship, her and her
parents, and you do sort of putyourself in the parents' shoes
and think, yeah, she's going areally hard path and I could
understand her parents sayingthis is going to be hard for you
(18:00):
.
Wouldn't you rather do thisother thing?
And I thought it was a reallyinteresting lesson for parents
as well, that maybe your 16 yearold sees the world differently
than you and you kind of justhave to listen.
Nyah Anderson (18:16):
Yeah, and I think that there's some testament to
seeing something fully outbefore excluding it or
dismissing it as an option,because there is so much danger
to what she wanted to do.
Like you're going to be in thisspace where people don't even
really see you as a person, letalone as a professional baseball
(18:37):
player.
So then there's all of that,and then there's the woman to
the man and the danger of thatrelationship.
So there's so many thingshappening, and then she's young
and the travel.
There's so many thingshappening, and then she's young
and the travel.
There's so many things that cancome up for that and all of
these things on top of theracism and all of the systems
that are coming against her.
So for them, it's like there'sso much fear around just being
(19:01):
able to live a fruitful life,let alone being able to live a
career that you're dreaming of,right?
I think that they had to see somany different things before
they were able to accept it andI know, like my parents are kind
of like you know, I'll let youdo it, but you have to do it has
to be the best.
You can't like this, isn't?
(19:22):
We're not just doing this forfun.
There are very few things wejust do for fun.
You have to be committed todoing this.
You have to show, you have toshow up.
You have to be on time, becausethat's kind of the nature of
being black in america.
You have to be the best.
You have to be better 10 timesbetter than everyone else to be
able to at least be considered.
Maddie Orton (19:39):
And that's unfortunate, but right along the
lines of the show itself, ste.
It sounds like you're abaseball guy.
Naya, are you a baseball person?
I?
Nyah Anderson (19:54):
am not.
Maddie Orton (20:02):
Are you faking it?
I really hope so.
Steve Fredericks (20:06):
Yes, she is, she's got a good swing.
She's got a good swing.
Nyah Anderson (20:12):
I was like I think when I was younger I
literally tried everything.
Me and my cousin used to playevery sport.
I did like karate, I swam for afew years, I played baseball, I
like tennis and golf and I dideverything.
And then I remember my unclewas like okay, let's try the
(20:33):
baseball thing.
And he threw the ball at me andit just missed my face.
I was like I'm never doing this, I would never play this sport.
Maddie Orton (20:44):
I feel like that's the theater kid pipeline story
right there.
That is, I feel like I feellike that's the theater kid
pipeline story right there.
I cannot even tell you how manysports I mean parents are going
to listen to this but cannoteven tell you how many sports my
parents put.
You know, we tried tennis.
My dad would take me onSaturdays and I would be like
this is, this is not, this isnot fun at all.
We did soccer for like a seasonand I remember I would sit
there and braid the blades ofgrass together, and I remember I
(21:04):
would sit there and braid theblades of grass together.
Nyah Anderson (21:08):
And that's like what I did.
I loved like I really lovedsoccer, I love tennis and I
loved cheerleading.
But I remember there was a timewhere I was doing too many
things and my mom was like, okay, so this, this time, we're not
going to sign you up for soccer.
Do you want to play basketballor do you want to do dance?
And I was like, oh, dance.
(21:29):
And then that was the end ofthe sports, it's just great to
dance and theater and singing.
Maddie Orton (21:37):
Well, maybe I'll circle back.
Maybe you're going to find likethe second love of your life
and it'll be baseball, and yourparents will be so excited.
Steve Fredericks (21:45):
And Steve, you coached baseball and your
parents would be so excited.
And Steve, you coached, oh yeah, well, I have three kids and so
they all play different sportsand such.
But yeah, my mostly I'vecoached my daughter in
basketball and in a softball andshe did soccer as well, so she
was real into sports.
Maddie Orton (22:02):
Nice, have you been able to be helpful with
Naya's swing?
Steve Fredericks (22:05):
No, she didn't need it, she has a good.
She played tennis.
It's that tennis swing.
It all looks good.
Now it makes sense.
Maddie Orton (22:13):
Like when you're a trained actor you can do
anything.
I believe that.
Nyah Anderson (22:21):
It's going to be on her resume before you know it
.
It probably already is on myresume.
Maddie Orton (22:25):
Oh yeah, I should say I mean on is on my resume
baseball?
Oh yeah, I should say I mean onmy theater resume.
Steve Fredericks (22:30):
I'm an excellent athlete, yeah, yeah,
there's a lot of skill sets.
I'll tell you.
As a director, we look forthose unique things and just
throw them at the actor when wetalk to them.
Maddie Orton (22:37):
Yeah, I always hope nobody's gonna actually
call me on it, but it did happento me one time I had.
Nyah Anderson (22:43):
I think I had gymnastics on my resume and she
was like, okay, do a cartwheelinto a split.
Like okay.
And at the time I was like,yeah, I really want it.
I did the cartwheel.
She was like, oh, just becauseyou were going to do it,
nevermind, I don't need to seeit.
Maddie Orton (22:59):
Oh, what a life lesson to all the actors out
there.
Nyah Anderson (23:02):
Oh my gosh.
Maddie Orton (23:03):
Oh my gosh.
Steve Fredericks (23:04):
You have to be prepared.
Maddie Orton (23:11):
Steve, I've had the pleasure of seeing shows at
Growing Stage and it is such abeautiful sort of just magical
space for people who are goingto have their first Growing
Stage experience.
What sort of age group is itfor?
What can you expect fromtheater for young audiences in
that sort of I don't even knowhow to describe like magic,
(23:32):
castle-y, imaginative, beautifultheater that you have?
Steve Fredericks (23:35):
oh, thanks well, yeah, I mean, it is a
restored vaudeville theaterthat's over 100 years old and
we've restored it to look like ajewel box type of size.
It's nice, it's intimate.
We don't usually have more than250 seats there, so there really
is not truly is not a bad seatin the house.
Everything we do is aimed atyoung people and their families,
(23:57):
so that the whole experiencetries to be as welcoming as
possible, not only for ourartists, but also for the people
that you know we have theprivilege that they're walking
through our doors.
You know, to use it intechnological terminology, the
growing stage is user-friendly.
What we try to do is create ourproductions so that they are
(24:20):
accessible to an entire family,so that, while it may be
targeted by the playwright for aspecific age, we make sure that
it's on all levels, haselements of interest for the
adults as well as an older oryounger sibling, because we want
it to be a shared experience.
That's what really makestheater magical is not only what
(24:40):
you see as an audience member,but what you share with those
people, that they're comingsitting beside you, and we've
always tried to say that ourgoal is not just to create a
moment in the theater, but tocreate a memory for the family
that sees the show together.
Maddie Orton (24:56):
I love that so much.
Well, I'm so excited for youguys.
It sounds like a reallytremendous show and, as we said,
inspirational for kids, butinspirational for adults as well
.
I think it'll be really great.
Steve Fredericks (25:08):
Thanks, yeah, it's a fascinating story and the
fact that it's true, I thinkreally it truly resonates today
and it's an important message toshare.
Maddie Orton (25:19):
Yeah.
Thanks so much, guys.
Thanks for your time.
Thank you, maddie.
Thanks to Naya Anderson andSteve Fredericks for joining me.
(25:41):
Thank you, maddie.
Be sure to give us a review,subscribe and tell your friends.
A transcript of this podcast,as well as links related to
content and more about the artsin New Jersey, can be found on
jerseyartscom.
The Jersey Arts Podcast ispresented by Art Pride New
Jersey, advancing a state ofcreativity since 1986.
The show is co-founded by andcurrently supported by funds
(26:02):
from the New Jersey StateCouncil on the Arts.
This episode was hosted,produced and edited by yours
truly, maddie Orton.
Executive producers are JimAtkinson and Isaac Cerna-Diaz.
Special thanks to the GrowingStage.
I'm Maddie Orton for the JerseyArts Podcast.
Thanks for listening.
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