In Ball Boy, Ben Fisher meditates on being gay and sports in this hour of standup-cum-storytelling. (The pun is intended and previews the humor of the show.)
The humor comes both from wordplay and stories from Fisher’s life. We follow broad strokes of moments in Fisher’s life: playing sports as a child, coming out to his parents, and then the loss of his father. His father loved sports, which both alienated and endeared him and our protagonist.
The show is sweet and casual. It’s “standup” because he performs with a microphone in hand, and “storytelling” because we see pictures of his family at times. The form works for this story, as the content has a big heart with a silly side. It never gets as bitter as standup is known for.
Fisher is a confident performer who does standup in a quasi-deadpan style. He occasionally reads off notes from a podium, though it seems like he is just checking rather than furiously reading lines. He knows where the story is going, and it is easy to trust his pacing and tone. He improvises well off of unexpected moments in the theater.
The show is a pleasant hour hearing from a comfortable performer relating humorous anecdotes from his life.
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Written and Performed by Ben Fisher.
About the Project
Born the gay son of a baseball umpire, comedian Ben Fisher examines the rules we inherit about becoming men, identity, and grief in his new hour of standup comedy. Deeply personal and funny, Ball Boy unpacks masculinity, societal norms, and a complicated family history while examining sport, fathers and sons, and the culture. If you’ve ever felt a little out of position, come out to the ballpark! LGBTQ+ *work-in-progress.
Reviewed by Molly McLean
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