A Pirate's life
BUTLER TWP — The life and legacy of the late Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Roberto Clemente, plus the racism he faced in America, were played out in musical form on Tuesday for more than 300 Butler High School students enrolled in Spanish classes.
“¡Arriba! ¡Arriba!” was performed by eight actors from the Civic Light Opera's “Gallery of Heroes” tour, which performs 50-minute, mini musicals at area schools to enlighten students on historical figures.
The performance led the students through Clemente's humble beginning in Puerto Rico to his tragic death on Dec. 31, 1972, when the airplane carrying the 12-time Gold Glove right fielder and supplies to earthquake-torn Nicaragua crashed just one mile off the coast of Puerto Rico.
Through song, dance, humor and poignancy the actors portrayed Clemente — from a teenager being recruited by the Brooklyn Dodgers farm system in 1954 and taking his first airplane ride, to the racism he faced when the farm team coach made fun of his accent and his realization that he could not stay in the same motel as his white teammates in the South.
The musical also included his 1955 signing with the Pirates, meeting his wife, Vera, and ultimately his 3,000th base hit followed by his sad demise in the Atlantic Ocean at age 38.
In one unsettling scene, the Dodgers' minor league coach mocks Clemente for saying “jess” instead of “yes” and divulges that management wanted him to keep Clemente on the bench because “fans don't want to see too many Negroes on the field.”
When Clemente plays his first game in the South in Alabama, the coach clearly enjoys Clemente's confusion when told he can't stay in the “white” hotel, and advises him to sleep at the ballpark, on the bench he was so familiar with.
“You belong on the bench with the other Negroes and Latinos,” the coach says to a young and disillusioned Clemente.
Students in the auditorium Tuesday were amused by a musical number in which the Pirates players who Clemente joined in '54 sing “We've got the worst team in baseball” before a fan in the stands with a bag over his head.
“For out-of-town games, we travel by hearse,” the uniformed actors sing sadly.
The musical detailed Clemente's well-known language barrier when it came to communicating with sportswriters, who printed his quotes phonetically.A touching moment came when Pittsburgh Pirate great Willie “Pops” Stargell handed Clemente his bat before No. 21 belted his 3,000th career base hit.“It would be his last regular-season hit,” said the narrator to the hushed students. “Baseball lost a great player and the world lost a great man.”Students were invited to ask the actors questions following the performance, including whether any of them were Pittsburgh natives.It turned out five of the seven thespians are from the region, and that the troupe has performed “¡Arriba! ¡Arriba!” more than 100 times in the tour's 14 weeks.Mackenzi Popovich, a Butler High junior, was impressed with the show.“I loved it,” she said. “It was great at demonstrating the story of Roberto Clemente's life in a fun way for the students.”Senior Jill Ford also gave the energetic show the thumbs-up.“It was cool and interesting,” Jill said. “I learned that he was a great guy who loved giving back to the community and never forgot where he came from.”Senior Amanda Chiaravalle said she has performed in musicals and appreciates the work that goes into each production.“And we got to see what Roberto Clemente's life was really like,” Amanda said.Joseph Fedore of Ellwood City, who played Clemente in the show, said he researched the baseball player extensively, including his early life and his insistence on riding to Nicaragua along with the relief supplies because bandits had confiscated the contents of two previous planes.“It's not common to find a humanitarian like Roberto Clemente,” Fedore said. “That's the kind of courage we should all aspire to.”
He said Clemente never took no for an answer and was confident in his skills as a ballplayer, which were the two reasons for his success on the field and in life.“Kids forget to be the change they want to see in the world,” Fedore said.He appreciated the attention of the Butler High audience on Tuesday.“They were pretty enthusiastic,” Fedore said.Spanish teacher Tonya Burgess said the students seemed to enjoy the show and paid close attention to each scene.“A little culture in your life never hurts,” Burgess said. “It was a really good showing of diversity and that's an experience I think a lot of these kids really don't get.”
