In a show that will soon hit the Heights Players’ theater, nudity will take center stage.

Take Me Out, an all-male show, much of it set in the locker room of a professional baseball team, is full of insights about baseball, masculinity and identity in the 21st century, told with humor, and ending in tragedy.

The Tony Award-winning Broadway play, written by Richard Greenberg, tells the story of a major league baseball player’s decision, at the height of his career, to ‘come out’ as an openly gay man. It premiered Off-Broadway in 2002, and made its Broadway debut the next year.

The play will run at 26 Willow Pl. for three weeks this January.

Fabio Taliercio, who directed last year’s Pippin on the Heights stage, will again take the reins for this bawdy classic.

This will be Taliercio’s sixth production as a director with the Players. He has said of his directing, “My goal in anything I do is always to reinvent it and present it in a fashion that makes it more relatable to today’s audiences.�

He did that with Pippin by casting both a male and a female in the role of the ‘Leading Player,’ which is typically played by a black male (played by Ben Vereen in the original).

He was asked by the board to submit a list of musicals and plays that he would want to take on next. Taliercio had many musicals and only one straight play.

“The only play that came to mind that would be challenging for the group as well as myself was Take Me Out,� said Taliercio. “It was something they had never done before and was a wonderful example of contemporary theater. I definitely wanted to bring it to Brooklyn communities.�

To Taliercio’s surprise, the board accepted the controversial piece, and he was off and running. This show should appeal to the theater’s adult membership, who prefer avante garde theater, and theater that is contemporary and might involve some language and nudity. The play takes place mostly in the locker room, where the players walk from the showers to their lockers. “The nudity is going to be everywhere,� says Taliercio. “I think initially it is shocking, but the audience will forget about the nudity and follow the story.�

Growing up in Brooklyn for 31 years in an Italian-American family and community, Taliercio discovered his love of theater and performance at a very young age. No stranger to Brooklyn’s network of community theaters, he has worked with such groups as the Strivelli Players (formerly St. Athanasius Theatre Guild), St. Simon & Jude Players, Narrows Community Theatre and Jeff Samaha Vocal Ensemble, in addition to countless venues throughout the city.

Having studied theater arts at Brooklyn College, Taliercio mastered his craft with determination. Being a New York City native afforded him a lifetime of experiences from which inspiration could be drawn. After exploring many artistic avenues, Fabio has found himself a home for the past eight years with The Heights Players. He has previously directed productions of Pippin, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, The Importance of Being Earnest, Look Homeward Angel, Witness for the Prosecution and assistant-directed and designed lights on numerous productions.

He has also performed and acted in numerous productions elsewhere over the years, including the principle role in the Off-Broadway hit Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding. He has worked on national commercials, film and television, all while continuing his directorial pursuits.

The next show for the Heights Players will be You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, by Clark Gesner.

— INBrooklyn Staff

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