Value Over Replacement is a baseball statistic measuring how much better or worse you are than a hypothetical average player who could replace you. If you already knew that, then Value Over Replacement by Ruben Grijalva, now playing in Ross through April 12 as the lead show of Ross Valley Players’ annual New Works, is right up your alley.
Edward “Chip” Fuller (Woody Harper) is a former MLB player who’s now the co-host of a popular San Francisco sports radio show. His co-host, Dan Drake (David Kudler), comes into possession of a report exposing MLB players who used steroids during their careers. Chip is on the list.
The cast is exceptional. Harper’s a strong actor with amazing stage presence, the sort of actor who could easily dominate a cast if director Ken Sonkin had not stacked it. There are strong performances delivered from the young Erik Forst, who has amazing focus on stage for anyone, let alone a 6th grader, and from Amelia Stafford as Fuller’s autistic son.
Kudler plays Drake believably as a charismatic schemer who is still somehow an idealist. Rachel Ka’iulani Kennealy brings a strength to the stage that pairs well with Harper, and David Schiller is (and I hate to use this term) perfectly cast. I watch a lot of theater, but I would be hard-pressed to name the last time I saw such a talented and cohesive cast.
Set and light designers Benicia Martinez and Michele Samuels understood the assignment. The sparse set and use of light to tell the story is a beautiful example of minimalism’s power.
The first act is taut and well-written, but the second runs long and spends too much time on Chip justifying the decision to use steroids. This is really the biggest issue with this script. For a play that supposedly lives in a “moral liminality,” it spends a lot of time arguing that steroids aren’t that bad, with little in the way of a counter-argument.
There is another question at play here, though. RVP New Plays is supposed to be dedicated to shows premiering at RVP, but Value is a 2016 Edgerton Foundation New Play Winner that premiered 10 years ago at Playground in San Francisco. Even if the script has been significantly altered, it has already premiered.
One has to ask: Whose voice was left out to bring in a show that’s already had its shot?
‘Value Over Replacement’ runs through April 12 at the Barn Theatre in the Marin Art and Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross. Thurs.–Sat., 7:30pm; Sun., 2pm. $20–$30. 415.456.9555. rossvalleyplayers.com.
