Steelers legend Bleier prepares for ‘The Play’
Pittsburgh Steelers legend and Mt. Lebanon resident Rocky Bleier will perform in a one-man show Sept. 15.
Pittsburgh Steelers legend and Mt. Lebanon resident Rocky Bleier will perform in a one-man show Sept. 15.
Pittsburgh Steelers legend and Mt. Lebanon resident Rocky Bleier will perform in a one-man show Sept. 15.
These days, Rocky Bleier is doing a lot of memorizing.
The Pittsburgh Steelers legend is learning the script for a one-man theatrical production, in which he talks about the life of … Rocky Bleier.
Wait a second, his friends will say. Isn’t that your story?
“Yeah, but not the way Gene tells it,” Bleier explains. “Gene has a certain way with words, and that makes it better theater.”
The production is “The Play: With Rocky Bleier,” written by journalist, comedian and all-around raconteur Gene Collier. The one-time performance – at least, that’s the way Bleier envisions it for now – is at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at Heinz Hall. Part of the proceeds benefit the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation.
The Mt. Lebanon resident said the genesis for the production came from author Gary Pomerantz’s fine work on “Their Life’s Work: The Brotherhood of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, Then and Now.” The book came out as the 40th anniversary of the Steelers’ first Super Bowl victory was approaching, and Bleier had the idea to work on something similar, from a player’s perspective.
“In the back of my mind, I always had Gene Collier as a writer because of ‘The Chief’ and the way he writes,” Bleier said, referring to the play about Steelers founder Art Rooney, co-written by Collier and Rob Zellers.
So perhaps it was natural Collier suggested a play instead of a book, with Bleier playing Bleier.
“The more I go through this, the more I read this, the more I memorize this, I’m thinking to myself, ‘Wow!’ Gene really did capture feelings I had but didn’t know how to say,” he says.
“The Play” – they opted for the simplest title possible – sets Bleier’s life against the backdrop of the era in which he grew up and found fame, first as a star running back at Notre Dame.
“The ’60s, specifically, in my college years, there was a whole upheaval of a movement that was taking place,” he said, referencing such cultural occurrences as the civil rights movement, student protests and the Vietnam War.
Vietnam, of course, is where Bleier’s football career almost came to an end, when he took more than 100 pieces of shrapnel in his foot. His extreme resilience, though, brought him back to the Steelers in time for the team’s unmatched run of four Super Bowls in six years, a subject he addresses prominently in “The Play.” “What brought that core of people together and allowed them to stay together to get the most out of everybody that was on the team?”
Some of those teammates – Pro Football Hall of Famers Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Greene, Franco Harris and Lynn Swann – will join him for “The Luncheon: A Prelude to the Play,” scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Sept. 15 at Heinz Field. As the guest of honor describes their plans for the event: “Bleier’s going to tell his story from his perspective in ‘The Play.’ I think you should hear his story from our perspective. It’s not necessarily a roast of me, but they can throw some digs in here and there,” Bleier said, predicting Bradshaw just might do so.
Along with Collier’s writing of “The Play,” Bleier credits others with whom he’s been working, including producer Dan Fallon, director Scott Wise and set designer Anne Mundell.
“I think we’re able to get the best of the best in Pittsburgh.”
For tickets to “The Play” and “The Luncheon,” visit www.heinzhall.org or www.rockybleier.com, or call 800-743-8560.