Two of the things I enjoy the most are baseball and musical theater, so naturally I've long been intrigued by Damn Yankees, a show that really isn't performed much lately. (Other than by my husband's high school back in 2001. Though I assume other schools have probably performed it in the last 25 years, too.) Luckily, Arena Stage has just opened a new production (what they're calling a "revisal") of the show.
Written in the 1950s, it's the story of Joe Boyd, a huge fan of the Washington Senators (then an American League team; the old saying was that Washington was "first in war, first in peace, last in the American League"), who bemoans the "damn Yankees" who always win. After saying he'd sell his soul for "one good long ball hitter" on the team, a guy named Applegate shows up to help him do just that. Joe leaves his wife, Meg, and becomes Joe Hardy, a young slugger who's quickly welcomed onto the Senators. Joe loves playing for the Senators, but desperately misses his wife...even as Lola, a seductress who also sold her soul to Applegate, tries to change his mind.
My understanding is that the Arena wants to bring the show to Broadway, which hasn't had a revival of it since the 1990s. With that in mind, they brought in a team to update the show; now set in 2000, Joe is a big Orioles fan, and is dealing with the knowledge that his father was a Negro Leagues player who toiled in MLB's minor leagues due to his race. They also change a bit of the scandal in Act Two, so the show touches on steroids (though that wouldn't really be an issue until later in the 2000s), and they tweaked the song order in the second act (source: my husband).
Changing the team from the Senators to the Orioles? I was ALL IN. It was truly delightful watching the actors on stage wearing Orioles uniforms and gear. I would've liked a few more lines that would personalize it to Baltimore (why not have Joe Hardy hit the warehouse?), but seriously, it was a joy. Orioles fans, get thee to Arena.
I honestly can't say enough good things about the cast. Rob McClure is clearly having a blast playing Applegate, and he impresses. Applegate is a fun role, to be sure, and he makes the most of it; he's generally playing it fun, but there are times when the menace comes through.
The other standout in the cast for me is Ana Villafañe as Lola. Her voice? Amazing. Her dancing? Phenomenal. Her acting? On. Point. The script could make Lola and Joe's relationship a bit stronger, I think, though their "Two Lost Souls" was a highlight, particularly for Jordan Donica as Joe Hardy.
Donica's voice is fantastic; an absolute dream (and it only makes me crankier about The Gilded Age not being a musical; I need the Peggy/Dr. Kirkland duet!). However, the role of Joe Hardy isn't a particularly flashy one. Donica gave an interview where he said he played Applegate in high school and was bummed he didn't get the role of Joe Hardy--he wanted the lead. His director told him "You’re a great actor and we need that for Applegate." And look, I'm not saying that playing Joe Hardy doesn't require acting skills, but it's just a quieter role, as this young man deals with pining for the wife he left, a woman he hangs out with but whom he can't tell the truth. But "Two Lost Souls" was the only time I really felt his charisma.
The show itself is sweet, with Joe's love of his wife Meg being his driving force. Joe's Orioles teammates were fun, even if nothing about the story is, you know, how baseball works. And I liked the nod to the Fosse choreography in "Who's Got the Pain." Overall, it's a really fun show and I'm really glad I got to see it. I hope it makes its way to Broadway.
Also, kudos to whoever create the preshow/intermission playlist. The songs were just completely correct; I was very much brought back to my late college years. Spot on.
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