DAMN YANKEES
music & lyrics by Richard Adler & Jerry Ross
book by George Abbot and Douglass Wallop
based in the novel "The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant" by Douglass Wallop
opened on Broadway in 1955
winner of 7 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Actor (Ray Walston as Applegate), Best Actress (Gwen Verdon as Lola) and Best Choreography by Bob Fosse
licensed by Music Theatre International
Synopsis
DAMN YANKEES is the only successful musical comedy built around the American national pastime of baseball--the baseball story neatly combined with the age-old Faust theme. Joe Hardy is a middle-aged, happily married baseball fan. He is found in his living-room watching a game over the television. Joe is in the depths of despair, for his favorite team, the Washington Senators, seems incapable of getting a winning stride. Suddenly the devil, in the person of Applegate, visits him with a proposition: Would Joe be willing to trade his soul if the Senators won not only the pennant but also the World Series? Joe is more than willing; he has never put much stock in his soul in the first place. Suddenly Joe sheds years. More than that, he has magically acquired singular powers as a baseball player. Meanwhile, Van Buren, manager of the Senators, tries to build up his team's morale ("Heart"). It is a hopeless job, for the Senators can hardly expect that their new rookie, Joe Hardy, could be of any use in lifting them from their habitual doldrums. But Joe proves the spark plug necessary to send the team flying at full speed for victory after victory.
Things may be rosy for the team, but Joe is in black despair. He misses his wife, Meg, sorely. His conscience also bothers him: he has disappeared from home without leaving a clue to his whereabouts. He tries to lift his spirits by renting a room in her house just to be near her. But this only tantalizes him further, since he is unable to tell Meg that he is really her husband, alive and well.
Applegate, alias the devil, once again steps into the picture. In an effort to win Joe completely away from his wife, Applegate enlists the services of Lola, a beautiful witch, to capture Joe's heart. Lola coquettishly tells Joe that she is in the habit of getting anything she goes ofter ("Whatever Lola Wants"). She then performs a seductive mambo ("Who's Got the Pain?").
The Washington Senators, with Joe as star, come out on top in their league. The World Series is at hand. Despite the team's success, and despite Lola's wiles, Joe misses his wife and wants to get back to her. Suddenly he realizes that if he does not play in the World Series the Senators cannot win; and if the Senators cannot win the World Series his bargain with the devil is broken. Thus Joe manages to keep his soul, lose Lola, return once again to his wife and once again assume the unexciting identity of a middle-aged baseball fan.
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I have always liked this show. It was the first musical I was involved with... ever. In high school I was in the pit orchestra, playing the trombone. This is a big show -- as were most shows written in the 1950s. Sets, costumes, dancing -- it has all the trappings that come with a the label "big show". That in itself can be intimidating. Add to that fact that it is a men heavy show and I can see why the show is not done very often. That's a shame because it really is a good show with some great songs and great scenes. What led me to choosing this show was that I liked the idea of scaling the shows down for a small stage and yet attempt to keep it just as exciting and fun as any large scale production. That takes some serious planning and thought. You have to use a small space well and move actors and scenery around carefully. There were many things to consider with this show ...
- It show requires 2 lead men, 3 lead women and 3 supporting men.
- Damn Yankees is a great show for groups that have a lot of men. The baseball team is strongly featured and requires strong singing and dancing. There are also a few small male roles that don't require much singing at all. It's a great show to get guys involved in musical theatre. I find it easier to get men interested in being in a musical if the parts they can play are something the can feel comfortable in. That usually means very masculine characters -- baseball players, pirates, villains, gangsters etc. So if you ever get to direct a musical and think you have men who could be persuaded to audition for a musical if the roles were something they could embrace, then this show might be a very good choice.
- A strong male actor is needed to take on the role of Applegate (the Devil). This role is much more of an acting part - he only has one song.
- The role of Lola can be quite challenging as it requires the triple threat of actor-singer-dancer. She does need a level of sexuality to her performance, but this can be tailored to the actor and the theatre.
- The orchestra requirements are quite large and there is no piano part. However many groups either pare down the parts or use a pre-recorded orchestra.
- Be aware that when you license the show from Music Theatre International, that you will be getting the original libretto and orchestrations, not the ones from the 1999 revival.
- There are several settings (a 1950s home, the ballpark, the locker room, a park, a theatre, plus a few other.
- There are many places from which to rent the costumes, especially the baseball uniforms and 1950s dresses. However, many of the costumes can be found in closets and thrift stores.
- The main props are a lot of baseball equipment, which usually can be borrowed from a local school.
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In the end, the production is one I am very proud of. I was able to mix a cast of high school students and college students. Audiences loved the show. The cast seemed to love the show. It was great to work on such a classic piece of musical theatre literature. I loved being able to take a large show and scaling it down for a small stage, but still keep the scope intended by the authors.
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