"Damn
Yankees," based on a novel by Douglass Wallop entitled
"The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant," opened on
Broadway in 1955 and has featured such big names as Gwen
Verdon, Roy Walston, Van Johnson, Bebe Neuwirth and Jean
Stapleton in major roles, as well as Bob Fosse as
choreographer. But the name with whom we probably most
associate this story is Jerry Lewis, who played the part of
Applegate, the Devil, from 1995 until recently, when he
retired from the stage. The show also hit the movie screen in
1958 and has been one of the most successful stories about the
game of baseball.
Sunset’s production of this classic Faustian tale is well
staged. Having Bill Jackson in the leading role as Mr.
Applegate certainly doesn’t hurt. Jackson can mesmerize an
audience with his size, his charm, his flexibility and his wit
in any role he plays, and he’s done it again in this role.
His counterpart, Joe Hardy, is well rendered by David Finley,
with his boyish innocence and beautiful tenor voice. His
"A Man Doesn’t Know" was beautifully styled. Lola,
played by Samantha Deibler, though a bit weak on the vocals,
is a good seductive dancer and actor as evidenced in her
performance of "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets."
But the leads aren’t the only contributors to this
production. The manager and other team members are wonderful
in their group numbers: "Heart" and "The
Game." The voices of Katschke and his team, consisting of
Michael Davis, Michael Renner, Ryan Stajmiger, Jonathan Bartos,
David Kaye and Brian Firkus, was very alive and in good
harmony. David Kaye is especially energetic.
The story involves Joe Boyd, a rabid fan of the hapless
Washington Senators. The Devil hooks up with him, offering him
his youth and his dream of being a top-notch baseball player,
but, of course, there is always a price to pay when bartering
with The Devil, which Joe learns.
The roles of Meg and Joe Boyd are believably played by
Antoinette Stiki and Robert Zimmerman. The represent a couple
who take each other for granted until something comes along to
change the pattern a bit. Meg’s friends, Sister and Doris,
are well portrayed by Victoria Hudziak and Marge Kurtz. They
both created memorable characters.
The children’s ensemble, consisting of Michael O’Brien,
Jackie Olivas, and Emma, Josh and Meg Borkowski, was well
directed and quite melodious in their reprise of
"Heart." Katherine Duffy filled the bill in her role
as the insistent reporter, and Matt Zembrowski got our
attention as the old postmaster from Hannibal, Mo.
The set design afforded many changes to be quickly
executed, thanks to the faithful J. Michael Desper.
Choreographer Melissa Bloch-Meier and Musical Director Donna
Kummer also added their talents to the mix, but Bryce Lord
deserves the lion’s share of the credit for putting all the
elements together, creating a delightful musical for our
summer pleasure, which Sunset does each year.
The show runs three more weekends, ending Aug. 3. Call
782-4430 for times and tickets. You’ll enjoy it.
