BWW Reviews: LOMBARDI Brings Taste of Football to Group rep

LOMBARDI /by Eric Simonson/directed by Gregg T. Daniel/Group rep, NoHo/through September 6

From the moment you enter the Group rep theatre and see a warmup football practice onstage, the tone for the play is set. You are about to watch, breathe, eat and sleep football. At least that is what Vince Lombardi did as head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1959-1968. Now onstage at the theatre in NoHo, LOMBARDI, an LA premiere, has no great dramatic plot or conflict but is true to form, an excellent slice.of.life character study of the man of the hour whom the play is named after. Boasting brilliant direction from Gregg T. Daniel and an outstanding cast of six, LOMBARDI, like a good football season, should pack 'em in.

Let's sum up the action of the play and the issues at hand. A rookie magazine reporter Michael McCormick (Troy Whitaker) tries with great difficulty to get a true slant on the man, laden with contradictions, and runs into heavy opposition from Lombardi (Bert Emmett) himself, who refuses to let McCormick talk to players on the field Jim Taylor (Christopher Hawthorn), Paul Hornung (Ian Stanley) or Dave Robinson (Steven West). As such, he lessens McCormick's chances of getting a fair and honest story. Control freak that he is, Lombardi wants full approval of what McCormick writes. Thank goodness for Lombardi's wife Marie (Julia Silverman) who treats McCormick like a second son, making him feel right at home and lending a soothing hand to the aggravation experienced. Lombardi, although he rants and raves and bullies, is typical of the old school; he believed in pride in a winning tradition. "If you are going to play the game to win, then focus and give it all you've got" philosophy, nothing more, nothing less. He was as hard as nails when it came to ruling his players' moves on and off the field, and had no time for football as commercial or show business. When Taylor tries to negotiate a better contract by bringing in a lawyer, Lombardi is abhorred at his attitude and questions Taylor's good sense and appropriateness for the sport. Lombardi, described as piss and vinegar, was a good Catholic and a family man, but football always took top priority, forcing his wife and children to wait in line. Marie puts up with him, because she loves to see him do what he was meant to do. When he is offered a bank job before Head coach for Green Bay, he considers it for a brief time, but would he really be as natural a fit? Hardly. As he describes bank positions, he refers to a teller as a receiver, and so on down the line, never allowing his mind to leave the realm of the game. Being Italian and called a wop, Lombardi avowed to be fair and equal in his choice of players, subjugating race and religion to, once more, the urgency of the game.

There are good sides and bad sides to Lombardi the man, called "the most imperfect perfect man". He loved what he did and went all the way to prove it. He was what he was. He died of colon cancer at age 57, leaving behind an unparalleled legacy. For this portrait, Simonson is to be commended. He has given the man his due in LOMBARDI, but for some nonfootball lovers, the play may lose interest after a while. Daniel as director really keeps it alive, creating a realistic ambiance, and the entire ensemble do astounding work. Emmett is tough to the core as Lombardi, convincing from the inside out. Equally real is Silverman who walks, talks and behaves like a good loyal New York Italian wife should. She is true blue. Whitaker is terrifically on target as the bewildered McCormick who refuses to compromise his ideals as a writer. West and especially Stanley as Hornung and Hawthorn as Taylor portray the footballers as tough, nitty gritty professionals who may have difficulties following Lombardi's lead, but do, of course, find their way. Praise as well to Chris Winfield's simplistic set with 3 projection screens whose images set the various locales.

Overall, LOMBARDI is a dynamite character study done proud by Daniel and his team of players.

www.thegrouprep.com

To post a comment, you must register and login.