MILWAUKEE - Al McGuire passed away in 2001, but he remains one of the most memorable sports personalities in Milwaukee history.
The former Marquette basketball coach is making a comeback of sorts.
McGuire made the ultimate exit stage left, winning the 1977 national championship with Marquette in his final game as a college basketball coach, but he's never left the minds of many and now, the eponymous play, "McGuire," is staging a relaunch.
"Even after three years, a lot of the text was still sort of dormant in my mind and memory," said Anthony Crivello. "This new inception will be in a brand-new space. It's going to be that we're adapting now because this particular version has been constructed so that it can tour, potentially tour."
Crivello grew up in Milwaukee before becoming a Tony award-winning actor. A Marquette grad himself, Crivello channeled personal experience into the role of Al when this play, written, as it were, by legendary broadcaster Dick Enberg, was originally performed.
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Starting in 2017, it was slam dunk casting, and Crivello is very enthused about stepping back into character.
After all, the word "character" always fit McGuire.
"His philosophies, his view on life and the way he executed his life was a very, very particular path, and that's one of the reasons he was so endearing and dear to Dick Enberg and why Enberg said, 'He's the most colorful, interesting man I have ever met in my life,' and there's nobody in second place," Crivello said.
McGuire himself may have finished on top, but the way he got there is why this story resonates with more than just basketball fans.
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While the potential exists of taking the show on the road to Big East cities and beyond, the focus now is on a summer run in Milwaukee, which will be different from the past.
Al played to the crowd and so will this production.
"The dimensions of the theater now, we're basically what's called a half-round," said Crivello. "There are going to be audience members on three sides, and so, as the audience reacts, I am literally reacting with them and so, it changes how the presentation will go. Sometimes they'll even talk to me, and I respond to them as Al."
In its first go-round, "McGuire" had an 88-show run at the Milwaukee Rep.
The re-staging of "McGuire" will take place from July 15 until the end of the month at Next Act Theatre.