November 4 & 5, 2012 - Special Spotlight Show
Matty: An Evening with Christy Matthewson
Written and performed by Eddie Frierson.
Original direction by Kerrigan Mahan.
Presented by California Performing Arts Centre.
Christy Mathewson (1880-1925) was one of the first great sport stars in American history. A pitcher who spent the bulk of his career with the New York Giants, he achieved 373 wins, making him the National League all-time champion. His record was tied only by Grover Cleveland Alexander (1887-1950).
Mathewson was also a football player for the Pittsburgh Stars. After his active career as a baseball player concluded, he managed the Cincinnati Reds, coached the New York Giants, and finally, was president of the Boston Braves.
The photogenic Mathewson declined to play on Sundays, and “the Christian Gentleman,” as he was known, elevated the public image of baseball. For the better part of two decades, Eddie Frierson has starred as Mathewson in the solo performance show he penned, “Matty: An Evening With Christy Mathewson.”
For two nights only, the show comes to Fremont Centre Theatre. Frierson portrays not only Mathewson, but also some 30 other personalities of the period, among them Frank Chance, Harry Pulliam, Bill Klem, Charles “Victory” Faust, John McGraw, Hal Chase and more. A segment in which Frierson as Mathewson fields questions from the audience reveals Frierson’s jaw-dropping command of baseball trivia and minutiae. Frierson is memorable as the remarkable athlete and star player who was consciously a role model for the young boys who looked up to him.
A classically trained stage actor, Frierson is also one of Hollywood’s busiest talents as a voice artist, featured in dozens of TV shows and feature films, including the current “Hotel Transylvania” and “ParaNorman".
” Anyone with even a passing interest in baseball will consider “Matty” to be exceptional, engrossing entertainment. For true fans of the national pastime, it’s manna from Heaven.
