Longtime favorite 'Philly Fan' holds forth at Montgomery Theater

Something must explain the persistence of

The Philly Fan

. In 2004, veteran actor Tom McCarthy first performed in Bruce Graham's one-man homage to Philadelphia sports franchises and their propensity to flub the big game, and this show has regularly reappeared on area stages ever since.

But if you listened to the language (or paid attention to the demographics) of McCarthy's unnamed narrator, you'd think he was headed for extinction. The Philly Fan chronicles 50 years of attendance at Connie Mack Stadium, the Vet, the Spectrum, Franklin Field, and later, Lincoln Financial Field and the FU (First Union) Center, venues for which he admits he can no longer afford tickets.

While sipping a cheap beer in a South Philly locale, McCarthy's fan rails at the failure of the Sixers, Flyers, Phillies, and Eagles (not to mention Smarty Jones) to bring home championships. He converses with an imaginary drop-in from Dallas, littering his rants with homophobic slurs, ethnic barbs, and fat jokes.

As such, it offers an engaging social history of the area's sports teams, told from the viewpoint of one of the troublemakers who booed Santa (booed everybody), threw snowballs at opposing players, and appeared in stadium court at the Vet. For those who have never heard of Connie Mack Stadium or Tug McGraw or Dr. J, Jorge Cousineau has contributed video clips and multimedia that play on the walls of the bar.

McCarthy delivers an affable, sympathetic performance that fills this 70-minute show with humor while also fleshing out the life of an everyman who served his country, raised a family, and lost his wife early to cancer.

Graham filled his script with jokes for those with the knowledge to get them (the '93 Phils were the "ugliest team in baseball"; fans thought having TO and McNabb on the same team meant we'd win 10 Super Bowls in a row).

Sure, students from Bryn Mawr or Swarthmore would need trigger-warnings on the Playbill, but Graham's offensiveness gains authenticity, the kind that can also imagine down-on-their-luck boxers working for loan sharks to pay rent.

And maybe because Philadelphians root for the underdog, the little guy, we also keep bringing back The Philly Fan, his unabashed love for disappointing teams and players outweighing his vulgarity.

People might want to see this type of fan go, banished from the stadiums, from the Mummers Parade, but, strangely enough, he keeps appearing on our local theater stages. Something has to explain that.

Through March 6 at Montgomery Theater, 124 Main St., Souderton. $25 to $35. 215-723-9984 or montgomerytheater.org.