JUST ANNOUNCED! MATTY RETURNS TO NEW YORK OFF-BROADWAY!
REVIVAL OPENS SEPTEMBER 4, 2025 at Actors Temple Theatre!
See Below and Stay Tuned for More Details!
I began researching the life of Christy Mathewson in the Summer of 1984. It was August of that year that I made my first trip to Factoryville, Pennsylvania, my first trip to Bucknell University’s beautiful campus in Lewisburg, my first trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum and Library in Cooperstown, New York — my first steps toward compiling my play, “Matty: An Evening With Christy Mathewson.”
Years, countless thousands of miles, hundreds of hours, dozens of archives and scores of interviews later I sit here trying to write my thoughts about a man that I’ve grown to love.
“‘MATTY,’ is a warm and genuinely affectionate tribute to a great ball player that’s sure to please anyone who truly loves the game. Wonderful yarns about baseball during its rowdy early days and colorful anecdotes about Mathewson’s fellow stars of the diamond make for an entertaining two hours even if you are not a baseball fan.”
“Catches the spirit of the times — which includes, of course, the present — with great spirit and theatricality!”
“Brilliant! Absolutely fantastic for the entire family!”
“Whether you are a baseball fan or not, Eddie Frierson’s play, “MATTY: An Evening With Christy Mathewson,” is a superb theatrical experience!”
“MATTY hits a home run! One of the Year’s Ten Best Plays!”
“The Best One Man Show! Frierson is endearing, charming, sincere, and deserves as many praiseworthy adjectives as Mathewson had victories (373). Even the most baseball-phobic of the stagestruck would have a great time at this show!”
“An entertaining reprise of the life and times of one of baseball’s early greats. Frierson, as Mathewson looking back, pours energy and down-home charm into an evening of raconteur theater.”
“It’s like there’s a 50-character play going on! ‘Matty’ is an inspiring evening of theatre, managing to be about more than “mere baseball,” with much to say to our own hyper-cynical time.”
“Frierson is great charming company and tells a good tale . . . a polished performance . . . One doesn’t have tobe a baseball buff to enjoy this pleasant evening. Appealing! Charming! Amusing! Great!”
“Frierson is totally convincing — not only giving, say, a beautifully technical account of the ‘fade-away,’ but in behaving seemingly with all the authority and knowledge of Mathewson’s acquired personal history. It’s pure virtuosity. A perfect pitch!”
“Remarkable! This show is as memorable as an exciting World Series game and it wakes up the echoes about why we love baseball. When MATTY comes to your town don’t miss it! A great way to get hooked on baseball again!”
“A great new play! If you could act your way into Cooperstown, Frierson would be there!”
“A magnificent trip back in time! I recommended it highly!”
“Holy Cow! It’s a hit! Frierson and director Kerrigan Mahan have given this piece a shape rarely found in one-person shows!”
“Eddie Frierson puts flesh on the MATTY myth and brings one of the games greatest back to life in magnificent form!”
“It’s 100 percent true that you don’t have to be a baseball fan to be completely engaged by Eddie Frierson’s performance. He leaves the audience with a real appreciation of Christy Mathewson, and the place and time in which he was an authentic American hero. On the other hand, if you are a baseball fan, you will be amazed at how much you didn’t know about “Matty,” his contemporaries, and the dramatic baseball events of their time.”
“‘MATTY,’ is a warm and genuinely affectionate tribute to a great ball player that’s sure to please anyone who truly loves the game. Wonderful yarns about baseball during its rowdy early days and colorful anecdotes about Mathewson’s fellow stars of the diamond make for an entertaining two hours even if you are not a baseball fan.”
“Catches the spirit of the times — which includes, of course, the present — with great spirit and theatricality!”
“Brilliant! Absolutely fantastic for the entire family!”
“Whether you are a baseball fan or not, Eddie Frierson’s play, “MATTY: An Evening With Christy Mathewson,” is a superb theatrical experience!”
“MATTY hits a home run! One of the Year’s Ten Best Plays!”
“The Best One Man Show! Frierson is endearing, charming, sincere, and deserves as many praiseworthy adjectives as Mathewson had victories (373). Even the most baseball-phobic of the stagestruck would have a great time at this show!”
“An entertaining reprise of the life and times of one of baseball’s early greats. Frierson, as Mathewson looking back, pours energy and down-home charm into an evening of raconteur theater.”
“It’s like there’s a 50-character play going on! ‘Matty’ is an inspiring evening of theatre, managing to be about more than “mere baseball,” with much to say to our own hyper-cynical time.”
“Frierson is great charming company and tells a good tale . . . a polished performance . . . One doesn’t have tobe a baseball buff to enjoy this pleasant evening. Appealing! Charming! Amusing! Great!”
“Frierson is totally convincing — not only giving, say, a beautifully technical account of the ‘fade-away,’ but in behaving seemingly with all the authority and knowledge of Mathewson’s acquired personal history. It’s pure virtuosity. A perfect pitch!”
“Remarkable! This show is as memorable as an exciting World Series game and it wakes up the echoes about why we love baseball. When MATTY comes to your town don’t miss it! A great way to get hooked on baseball again!”
“A great new play! If you could act your way into Cooperstown, Frierson would be there!”
“A magnificent trip back in time! I recommended it highly!”
“Holy Cow! It’s a hit! Frierson and director Kerrigan Mahan have given this piece a shape rarely found in one-person shows!”
“Eddie Frierson puts flesh on the MATTY myth and brings one of the games greatest back to life in magnificent form!”
“It’s 100 percent true that you don’t have to be a baseball fan to be completely engaged by Eddie Frierson’s performance. He leaves the audience with a real appreciation of Christy Mathewson, and the place and time in which he was an authentic American hero. On the other hand, if you are a baseball fan, you will be amazed at how much you didn’t know about “Matty,” his contemporaries, and the dramatic baseball events of their time.”
TIME: Saturday, May 24 at 7:30pm
Sunday Matinee May 25 at 2:00pm
TIME AND DATE: TBA
You can also help by donating directly to the church. The funds will be used to help people who lost their homes cover immediate expenses and for the church’s eventual reconstruction. http://www.palisadesmethodist.org/giving
In addition: Send donations of e-gift cards (amazon, target, grubhub, etc.) to palisadesmethodist@gmail.com. These will be given to community members who lost their homes and belongings.
MATTY: AN EVENING WITH CHRISTY MATHEWSON returns to the New York stage twenty-eight years after a brilliant run at the Lambs Theatre in 1996 produced by Edmund Gaynes and Black Bags Three Productions. Under the award-winning direction of Kerrigan Mahan, Eddie Frierson revives his award-winning performance for a run at the Actors Temple Theatre Off-Broadway. Gaynes will be producing once again! Opening night is the anniversary of the last game Christy Mathewson pitched in the Big Leagues (September 4, 1916) and is also the anniversary of the show’s original opening night at the Lambs on September 4, 1996. This run commemorates the 100th anniversary of Christy Mathewson’s passing in 1925. Don’t miss this opportunity to see one of the most acclaimed one-person shows ever produced with the original cast and production team!
7:00pm Thurs-Sat
2:00pm Sunday matinee
OPENING NIGHT SEPTEMBER 4, 2025
RUNNING THROUGH OCTOBER!
Previews and ticket information to be announced.
Date: September 4, 2025 Opening Night!
THE TY COBB MUSEUM 461 Cook Street
Royston, Georgia 30662
Tentative Date: Summer, 2026
A Return to the DOWNSTAIRS CABARET
THEATRE Rochester, New York
dates to be determined
301 Markham Woods Rd., Longwood, FL 32779 301
Markham Woods Road Longwood, Florida 32779
TIME: 7:30pm
(more details coming soon!)
Hot Springs, Arkansas details TBA
TBD
Check back regularly for the updated
performance schedule.
c/o The Mathewson Foundation
P.O. Box 220323
Newhall, CA 91322-0323
Follow MATTY on Social Media!