By Anita Eboigbe
Abuja – Nigerian-American actress and comedian, Uzo Aduba has been selected to portray Toni Stone in an eponymous off-Broadway play.
The play is focused on the true life story of Toni Stone, a baseball player who in 1945 became the first woman to go pro in the Negro Leagues, despite discrimination for her colour and gender.
Aduba, an Emmy award winner, popularly known for her role as Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ Warren on NetFlix’s ‘Orange is the New Black’, will be portraying the celebrated professional baseball player.
The news of the world premiere production of the eponymous titled play ‘Toni Stones’, was shared officially by production company Roundabout Theatre Company on Tuesday.
Toni Stones’ based on Martha Ackmann’s book, ‘Curveball, The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone,’ is to be directed by Tony Award winner, Pam MacKinnon.
Toni Stone became one of the first women to play as a regular on a big-league professional team in 1953.
In 1985, Stone was inducted into the Women’s Sports Foundation’s International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Aduba made her Broadway debut in 2007, starring in ‘Coram Boy’ and currently holds two Emmy awards, five SAG awards and the Critic’s Choice Award.
She is the first actress to win Emmy awards in both drama and comedy for the same role, as she won an Emmy for outstanding actress in 2015 and another for comedy in 2014.