National Pastime Musical to Perform at National Baseball Hall of Fame

The new musical comedy National Pastime, by playwright Tony Sportiello and composer Al Tapper, will have its first performance at the Grandstand Theater in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY on May 1. Tom Herman will direct, with musical direction by David Wolfson.

The show, presented by Algonquin Theater Productions, tells the story of WZBQ, a radio station in 1933 Iowa, which is on the verge of bankruptcy. To spark ratings, the station re-invents a long-defunct local baseball team and WZBQ begins to broadcast phony baseball games as though real. The musical is aiming to arrive on Broadway in 2011.