Date: Fri 04-Jun-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: SARAH

Quick Words:

Downtown-Cabaret-Dwmn-Yankees

Full Text:

THEATRE REVIEW: A Grand Slam Hit At Downtown Cabaret

By Julie Stern

BRIDGEPORT -- Years ago I was standing on line in the post office when a woman

in front of me remarked, apropos of nothing, "To root for the Red Sox is to be

doomed to heartbreak." That, of course, is still true. Like "the other team

from New York," the Red Sox will always be, its seems devilishly sure,

outstripped by those damn Yankees.

Such was the premise in 1955 of Richard Adler and Jerry Ross' musical that

garnered eight Tonys and ran for over 1,000 performances. The only difference

was, in Douglass Wallop's book the team that lived in the perpetual shadow of

the Bronx Bombers was the now-defunct Washington Senators.

The fable brought to life in Damn Yankees , the current offering at Downtown

Cabaret Theatre, centers around a real estate salesman, Joe Boyd, who is so

devoted to his hapless Senators that he makes a pact with the Devil, staking

his soul for the chance to be a ball player for a season and lead his team to

win the American League pennant.

However, sharp dealer that he is, Boyd insists that there be an escape clause.

He must have the right to change his mind up until the night before the last

game of the season, at which point he can still back out.

OK, says the Devil, and instantly the middle-aged Boyd is transformed into a

modest young hunk named Joe Hardy. Coming from mysterious origins in Missouri,

"Shoeless Joe from Hannibal Mo" dazzles the Senators' manager with a display

of monster home-runs, galvanizes his new teammates into playing heads up

baseball, and in short shrift rescues the team from the cellar and turns the

Senators into serious pennant contenders.

In fact they do so well it seems the team could actually have first place sewn

up before the last game, in which case Joe could use his escape clause. To

prevent this, the Devil, who goes under the name Applegate in this version,

brings his own secret weapon: the luscious and lascivious Lola -- the

home-wrecker from Hell -- to seduce Joe into forgetting about his old life...

This variation on the legend is more akin to The Devil and Daniel Webster than

Faust. Spawned in the post-Korea/pre-Vietnam age when Mom and Apple Pie were

the great comfort symbols and professional ballplayers were paid about as well

as bus drivers, Damn Yankees is a celebration of American innocence and

naivete.

This is a wonderful, joyous, nostalgic romp, filled with memorable songs like

"You Gotta Have Heart," "Whatever Lola Wants (Lola Gets)," "Two Lost Souls on

the Highway of Life," "Who Gets the Pain (When You Do the Mambo...)," and so

on.

The five lead roles are played by Equity performers but the entire large cast

is equally good. I loved the chorus, who doubled as diehard fans and "lost

souls" in the Club Limbo, where the vampy Lola makers her last attempt to win

Joe over to the dark side, but whose primary role was the baseball team.

Goofy, immature, hopeful, anxious, teasing and loud, the cast conveyed the

essence of minor league ball players doing the thing they love most, but not

sure they will ever make it to "the show."

Staged with the Downtown Cabaret's usual perfection, Craig North's direction

and Nathan Hurwitz' musical leadership, Damn Yankees is an American classic,

and absolutely delightful entertainment, whether you're a believer (in

baseball) or not.

(Performances continue through August 1, with shows every Friday at 8 pm,

Saturday at 5:30 and 8:30, and Sunday at 5:30 pm. Tickets range from $19 to

$25, depending on performance time. Contact Downtown Cabaret's box office at

576-1636 for reservations or other information.)