Could “The Boss” of the Yankees be sliding into home plate on the Great White Way? The Roundabout Theatre Company recently held an industry reading of Steinbrenner!, a new play co-written by sportswriters Bill Madden and Ira Berkow about the late Yankees honcho, a press representative has confirmed. The play recounts Steinbrenner’s purchase of the Yankees in 1973, ending with his death in 2010, The New York Post reports.
Directed by Randal Myler, the reading featured Richard Kind (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) as George Steinbrenner, Patrick Page (Spider-Man) as Billy Martin and Daniel Davis (La Cage aux Folles) in three roles—Steinbrenner’s father Henry, theater producer and friend Jimmy Nederlander and former Major League Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent.
Steinbrenner! doesn’t shy away from the painful final years of Steinbrenner’s life, when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and eventually died of a heart attack. Steinbrenner owned the Yankees for 37 years, during which the team won seven World Series titles and 11 pennants. His outspoken personality made him an iconic and often controversial figure in the world of sports. The new play is adapted from Madden’s 2010 biography, Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball. If Steinbrenner! aims for the Great White Way, the production will be in good company—Yankees-inspired play Bronx Bombers also begins performances on Broadway January 10, 2014.
Learn more about the legendary Yankees owner in the tribute video below!