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Local actor takes lead in ‘Purple Rose’ production
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Richard Porterfield said he had to get back in shape to portray legendary ball player Honus Wagner.Jim Porterfield is not a baseball player, but he plays one on stage.
Porterfield, a Northville resident, is tasked with bringing to life one of the most legendary baseball players of all time—Honus Wagner—in an adaptation of Honus and Me, playing at the Purple Rose Theater in Chelsea.
“He was an amazing athlete, in terms of his speed, strength and skills,” Porterfield said. “He’s recognized as one of the best athletes of all time.”
The play, written by Steven Dietz, follows the adventures of a young boy who comes into possession of the rarest treasures in the sports world—a Honus Wagner baseball card. To make matters even more interesting, this one is a magic card, according to Alan Ribant of the Purple Rose Theater.
“It brings the legendary baseball player back to life,” he said.
The youngster, an awkward boy having difficulties in life, receives some valuable life lessons from the sports icon.
“He really identifies with him,” Porterfield said.
Porterfield said he was thrilled to be offered the role. He did plenty of research into Wagner, through the internet and through Ken Burns’ documentary on the sport—the portion focusing on 1900-1910 spotlights Wagner.
He’s kind of an interesting figure,” he said. “He was a very beloved figure. He had quite a personality and was quite a storyteller.”
He also cared for the image of the sport and what it meant to young people. In fact, the reason the Honus Wagner card is so valuable is because so few of them were made. Originally sold by a tobacco company, the cards were marketed toward young people and Wagner didn’t think tobacco companies should advertise to children. He put the kibosh on that.
“He thought that was the right thing to do,” Porterfield said.
A large part of preparing for the role involved looking the part, he said. Porterfield was an athlete at Northville High School in his day—he didn’t play baseball, but still holds the school record for the shot put event—but he thought some additional preparation was needed.
“The biggest thing I had to do was to get back in shape to at least give the impression of a world class athlete,” Porterfield said. “It was a couple of hard weeks.”
Porterfield has been a professional actor for about 20 years, and affiliated with the Purple Rose Theater for more than 10 of those. He has also appeared in television commercials that aired during the 1980s and in industrial training videos. He left the business for a while and returned to it more than a decade ago.
He makes his living as an actor now, and subsidizes it with his knowledge of trees—he’s a consulting arborist called in to asses the value of trees that have been damaged through vandalism, accidents or weather-related destruction for the insurance industry.
Honus and Me continues through Sept. 2 at the theater, with a show every night. For more details, call the theater at (734) 433-ROSE.
“It was originally written as a child’s play, but we’re doing it with an realistic approach,” Porterfield said. “It’s for all ages.”
