A rich story about three Saskatchewan women who end up playing professional baseball will be staged at the Tommy Douglas Performing Arts Centre.
“Diamond Girls”, written by Maureen Ulrich will be performed at the Tommy Douglas Centre on Sunday and Monday, June 26 and 27. Both shows start at 7:30 p.m.
“Diamond Girls” portrays the 12-year saga of Philip K. Wrigley’s celebrated All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, as seen through the eyes of three Saskatchewan players. Mary “Bonnie” Baker, Arleene Johnson Noga, and Daisy Junor all ventured from Regina to play professional baseball for the South Bend Blue Sox and Muskegon Lassies.
Malia Becker, age 27, of Regina plays all three women, as well as Wrigley, several teammates, a charm school instructor, a chaperone, a manager, and several reporters. Although Becker has little experience with softball or baseball, she has played other sports, so competition and athleticism are familiar ground.
Because of her participation on the Regina Riot football squad, Diamond Girls’ “looks vs. skill” theme resonates. In addition, Becker has a terrific creative team including director Kenn McLeod, technical director William Hales, and stage manager Shelby Lyn Lowe.
With their assistance, Becker will find the sweet spot and hit this script right out of the park.
The tour schedule include appearances in Manitoba, Alberta, and Ontario, four Fringe festivals and a special presentation at the International Sports Heritage Association’s annual conference in Calgary on September 26. Becker will have performed the show for 40 audiences by October 1.
Playwright Maureen Ulrich was drawn to the subject after seeing an August 2015 Leader Post article about the commemoration for Mary Baker at Regina’s Central Park.
Ulrich approached the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame about contacting Baker’s family and other American Girls Professional Baseball League players, and the rest is history. Within a few weeks, the project became part of the Hall of Fame’s 50th anniversary celebration.
Ulrich reconnected with Arleene Johnson Noga, whom she had met 16 years earlier and traveled to Battleford to visit the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
After interviews with Noga, Baker’s and Junor’s family members, Saskatoon sportswriter Ned Powers, and Estevan resident and former American Girls Professional Baseball League player Elsie Earl, Ulrich was ready to pen Diamond Girls. The script has been workshopped and dramaturged by playwrights Rodney McLean, Kelly Jo Burke, and Andrew Johnston.
Diamond Girls would not be possible without the support and sponsorship of the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame; Women in Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation; and Saskatchewan Lotteries.
Tickets for Diamond Girls are $20 and are available at Pharmasave.
