Joey Margolis, a Jewish boy
growing up in the 1940s in an
Italian-American neighborhood in
Brooklyn.
Joey’s parents are divorced, and
his remarried father relates to him
only at a distance—circumstances
that reflect those of Kluger’s own
childhood.
As if that weren’t trouble enough,
Joey is regularly pummeled by a
neighborhood bully, also an echo
of Kluger’s own past.
Drawing on a well of creativity
and chutzpah, and lacking a male
role model, Joey tries to get the
attention of the New York Giants
hot-headed third baseman, Char-
lie Banks, with a series of letters
full of outlandish claims and pa-
thetic appeals.
When those letters don’t suc-
ceed, Joey puts the ballplayer on
the spot by writing to his girlfriend,
nightclub singer Hazel McKay.
Danny Binstock plays the adult
Joe Margolis, Julian Lerner plays
the boy Joey, Bobby Conte Thorn-
ton plays Charlie, and Teal Wicks
plays Hazel.
Teal Wicks talks about the musical
NJ STAGE - ISSUE 64
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