THE OUTLOOK wasn't brilliant for the Mudville niue chat day;

The score stood four to two with one inning more to play.

By A.P. McCredie News Reporter

An American performer named Dewolf Hopper performed Ernest Lawrence Thayers’ classic poem Casey at the Bat a reported 19,000 times to baseball audiences throughout North America during the late 14th century.

Rasty Corben of North Van- couver foves performing the ode to the fallen mighty Cascy, but Hopper’s record should be safe.

Then fram five thousand throats . and more there rose a lusty yell,

it rumbled in the mountaintops, it rattled in the dell;

It knocked upon the hillside and _ recoiled upon the flat,

For Casey, mighty Casey, was ad- vancing to the bat.

In 1984, Corben first read the famous poem in preparation for his grade eight class performance at Balmoral Junior Secondary.

“TF loved it the first time { read

_ it,’? said Corben. From there he took it on the . summer stock circuit. Well, kind of. ;

“Every summer | worked at summer camps and honed the ‘comedic aspects of the perfor- mance after dinner for the kids,’’ he said.

It was during one of these

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SANULOT THESPIAN Rusty Corben performs Ernest Lawrence Thayer's epic poem Casey at the Bat

Wednesday, May 12, 1993 - North Shore News -— 27

Seas

NEWS photo Noil Lucente

during openirizg ceremonies of the Lynn Valiey Little League baseball season.

Corben worst

mess-hall_ matinees that realized every actor's dream. He forgot his lines.

He signalled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew;

But Casey still ignored it, and the Umpire said, “Strike Two.” “Fraud!” cried the maddened thousands, and the echo an- swered, ‘Fraud!”’

But one scornful look from Casey

and the multitude was awed.

“It was about halfway through the show and I just blanked right out, froze,’’ recalled the Simon Fraser University fourth-year English student. ‘“‘It’s the only time I forgot the lines, and 1 hope it’s the last.””

The 52-line poem takes Corben between five and six minute: to perform,

The current incarnation of the show — most recently played out at the Lynn Valley Little League opening ceremonies — is a solo performance. Corben has tried it out with fellow actors, but prefers the solo act better.

‘“*The words are great, but the part { enjoy best are the move- ments used to tell the story,” Corben said. ‘‘! find that when I’m out there alone I have better

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44 I loved it the first time I read it. 99

control of the pace.”

The Lynn Valley performance was the debut of a Mudville uniform Corben had made to add a more professional look to the show, Also, he is currently putting a video package together in hopes of attracting corporate clients and larger baseball teams.

The iron-man record of Hopper doesn’t impress Corben, who managed to get his hands on a vinyl recording of Hopper’s reading of the poem.

“{ didn’t like his version at all,’”’ said Corben. ‘The best’ ver- sion still is. the animated Walt Disney one.”

lf anyone should know, Rusty.

it's

And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,

And now the air is shattered sy the force of Casey’s blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored Jand the sun is shining bright;

The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light, And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;

But there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out.

(For a complete version of

. Thayer’s Casey at the Bat, visit

your local public library.)

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