[America’s favorite pastime is taking center stage in a new
production at Chicagos Goodman Theatre. “Toni Stone” is the story
of the first woman to play in baseball’s Negro Leagues.]
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‘TONI STONE’ SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON GROUNDBREAKING BASEBALL PLAYER
 
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Angel Idowu
February 4, 2023
WTTW
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_ America’s favorite pastime is taking center stage in a new
production at Chicago's Goodman Theatre. “Toni Stone” is the story
of the first woman to play in baseball’s Negro Leagues. _

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America’s favorite pastime is taking center stage in a new
production at the Goodman Theatre.

“Toni Stone” is the story of the first woman to play in
baseball’s Negro Leagues. Stone was rejected by the All-American
Girls Professional Baseball League due to her race, so she instead
joined an all-male baseball team, the Indianapolis Clowns, to play
second base.

“I think it’s of the utmost importance to play iconic characters
who we have never heard of,” said actress Tracey Bonner, who plays
Stone. “I didn’t, and I played baseball from 5-12 and softball,
and I had never heard of this iconic woman.”

Bonner said of the play: “What you’ll learn are some of the
obstacles she faced — part of that her mother not being supportive.
She wanted to do traditional mother things. She was proficient in a
lot of things and didn’t want to limit herself. It follows her
journey in an all-male sport, some of the things she had to do to fit
in and some of the things she had to comprise herself to be in this
sport.” 

Playwright Lydia Diamond said one of the elements she wanted to
highlight was that despite Stone’s challenges, she achieved her
goals.

“The story I’m telling is about Toni Stone,” Diamond said.
“Some things she encountered were horrible things. It made not what
White people have done to us the story — it was important to me that
that not be the story.”

Diamond continued: “A thing I don’t see on stage as much as I’d
like — [I] wanted to see a group of men hold up a Black woman and
tell her story. So the men play different characters. The men play
women. Someone plays her mother. They play White and Black people,
it’s exciting. … I wanted to see Toni Stone on the stage by
herself the way she would be. It’s compelling to me, the way a woman
pushes her way into a world that didn’t want her and is so
successful. That’s part of the story of her story.”

Set in the 1950s, the play aims to celebrate Stone’s home runs,
despite the racist and sexist barriers. Bonner said the show is a
celebration of who Toni was, not necessarily what she did.

“She says it in the play: ‘You can do anything if you work real
hard.’ Believe in yourself, and fight for what you believe in and
who you want you be — I think that is the biggest takeaway,”
Bonner said. “Always fight for who you are and know that you are
enough.”

“Toni Stone” runs at the Goodman Theatre
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_ANGEL IDOWU is currently the JCS FUND OF THE DUPAGE FOUNDATION ARTS
CORRESPONDENT FOR WTTW/CHICAGO'S PBS STATION. Prior, she served as a
reporter and producer for CBS affiliate WJTV12 in Jackson, MS_

_Founded in 1955 WTTW (Window to the World) is Chicago's PBS
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* theater
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* African American history
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* Black Women
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