Woodland Opera House's `Damn Yankees'
It's another home run for the Woodland Opera House as they present “Damn Yankees,” written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross with a book by George Abbot and Douglas Wallop.
The musical is set in the mid-1950s when Americans were obsessed with baseball. The aging Joe Boyd (Nathan Lacy) expresses that he would sell his soul for his favorite team, the Washington Senators, to finally beat the Yankees and win the league pennant championship. His adoring wife Meg Boyd (Beth Ellen Ethridge) laments about the six months of being ignored by her husband during baseball season followed by six months of having an attentive and adoring husband.
The devil, known here as Mr. Applegate (Rick Eldredge), makes a deal with Joe to transform him into a young professional ball player, Joe Hardy (AJ Rooney) who will be the best player on earth for all time and sure to beat the Yankees. But being the savvy real estate agent Joe Boyd is, he convinces the devil to put in an escape clause in the contract, letting Joe return to his old life with his wife if he chooses to go back before it is too late. Nosy sports reporter Gloria Thorpe (Alyssa Parsons) is determined to dig up young Joe's origins while the sexy Lola (Erin McGoldrick) tries to seduce and entice him away from his faithful wife forever.
This show has all the things that make musicals exciting to watch. Catchy songs, a cast of all shapes and sizes with each ball player and ensemble bringing their own quirky character to life. Director and choreographer Staci Arriaga makes the show bounce along with her zippy choreography which was originally done on Broadway by Bob Fosse.
Dean Mora, music director, coached this lineup magnificently so that every “pitch” was perfect. The ball players used their bats as props during some dances and doubled as jazz dancers in an iconic scene in a club called Limbo. Their manager Van Buren (Jeff Nauer) led them in the old classic “You Gotta Have Heart” which was a running theme in the show.
Beautiful ballads that tugged on our heartstrings were sung by Lacy, Rooney and Ethridge that showed off their vocal chops with the emotionally moving songs “Goodbye Old Girl,” “A Man Doesn't Know” and “Near to You.” They are all major league actors as well and have had prominent roles in many local productions.
Parsons was a dynamo busting the balls of Etheredge in trying to get to the bottom of Joe Hardy's background. Etheredge with his tall sly demeanor was a lovable devil and great at covering up the small mishaps with the sound system during his musical number. He reminded me of Robert Preston in “The Music Man.” He even had a cool cigarette lighter that shot up hellish flames on the stage.
The minute I saw McGoldrick on stage, I knew she must come from a professional background. Indeed, she has worked as a Rockette in New York City and been on acting tours for Broadway and in Sacramento at the Music Circus. She is definitely a triple threat with her acting, song and dance numbers. “Whatever Lola Wants” was both seductive and hilarious to watch as Rooney squirmed away from her advances. Her crackerjack duets with dance captain Eric Catalan were very challenging and entertaining. Rooney was an ace in every inning.
While the sets were minimal and there is still no live orchestra, it was nice to see the detailed costumes and wigs that were spot on for the 1950s setting. The energy from the cast was great. Audiences even sang along with “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventhinning stretch (also known as intermission). Get out of the dugout and don't miss this “hit,” come see “Damn Yankees.”
Shows run now through May 5. Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at https://woodlandoperahouse.org/.
By Jennifer Goldman, Theatre Reviewer