Richard Greenberg's "Take Me Out" is casually referred to as "that gay baseball play." And it's true: the play tells the story of a major league baseball player who comes out of the closet at the peak of his career. But it's about more than that, as it tackles racism and classism, the glory of the game itself, and even the dangers of assuming the best in people while refusing to acknowledge their faults.

Unfortunately the play doesn't do most of these topics much justice, but you can't fault Blackfriars for trying. The troupe does a heck of a job with a seriously flawed script, and some fine actors and ingenious staging go a long way toward covering up the play's faults.

Still, there are a lot of faults to make up for. "Take Me Out" won the Tony for Best Play in 2003. I have to assume it was a slow year on Broadway. The idea behind the show is a good one: chronicle the complicated drama that would ignite once the testosterone-laden locker room of a pro sports team is infiltrated by an out-and-proud homosexual. And that's where the play works best, examining the changing relationships between newly out superstar Darren Lemming and his teammates. Unfortunately, Greenberg broadened his focus, turning what could have been an interesting microcosm of society's homophobia into a full-blown melodrama by its conclusion. There's even a jailhouse confession. Greenberg also threw in a barely developed subplot involving racism in baseball that includes some poorly utilized and developed supporting characters, like a non-English-speaking Japanese pitcher and two Latino players who get maybe five lines total between the two of them. And the play features some of the most unbelievable dialogue I've ever heard uttered on stage.

Remember the 1990's teen soap "Dawson's Creek," and how critics whined that real teenagers would never speak like its loquacious cast? In "Take Me Out," baseball players make puns about Franz Kafka and name check "Funny Girl." I'm sure there are brainy ballplayers out there. I doubt any of them come close to the eye-roll-inducing monologues spouted by shortstop Kippy Sunderstrom, who acts as the play's narrator.

Actor Stevan Cohen tries to make Kippy's speeches sound marginally realistic, but it's a hopeless battle. Still, he's affable and believable as the peacemaker of the team, the guy who wants everyone to get along despite sexual preference and ethnic differences. Michael Riffle does great work as troubled pitcher Shane Mungitt, a character clearly patterned in part after the infamous John Rocker. It's to Mungitt's credit that by the end of the play the audience can sympathize a little with a virulent bigot.

The play really hinges on the gay player, Darren Lemming, played here by Michael Francis O'Conner, his booming bass voice demanding attention. O'Conner has quite an acting resume, and it shows. Darren's a tough character - he's an egomaniac, but he also knows that he's an entitled jerk. That awareness coupled with a touch of self-deprecation make him oddly endearing. He's funny and proud, butch but vulnerable. It's a tough balancing act that O'Conner excels in.

Even so, the show gets stolen by Kevin Indovino as Darren's stereotypically flamboyant money manager, Mason Marzac. Indovino milks the role for every drop of humor (the effort is appreciated), and delivers most of the play's great zingers. Maybe playwright Greenberg realized how fun and welcome Mason is whenever he's on stage, since by the end of the story he essentially becomes a moral compass, the voice of optimism in a sea of overwrought despair. (Just a reminder: this is a play about baseball, not surviving the Holocaust or something.)

In addition to solid casting, Blackfriars does a great job with the set and staging. Although most scenes take place in the locker room (more on that in a minute), some take place in a bar, others in a prison, some in the field, etc. The stage at Blackfriars is modest, but scene designer John Haldoupis has created a deceptively simple solution featuring a rotating platform, a half-wall, and two swinging sets of lockers that accommodate every scenario.

Now about those locker room scenes: yes, "Take Me Out" features full frontal male nudity. And not just a flash; one scene goes on for nearly 10 minutes with most of the cast on stage wearing absolutely nothing. On opening night, a few audience members audibly gasped, and some got visibly uncomfortable. Should you see the play - and despite its faults, you should - make sure you're comfortable with that, unlike the prodigiously drunk woman in the front row who more than once yelled at the actors to cover up. Some of the poor guys looked absolutely terrified to have their souls and bodies totally exposed on the stage, and immature reactions from the audience can't make their jobs any easier.

"Take Me Out" | Through July 29 | Blackfriars Theatre, 28 Lawn Street | $12-$25 | 454-1260, www.blackfriars.org.