Damn Yankees - Fri, Jul 19, 2019 - The Shedd Institute

Based on The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, Douglass Wallop’s 1954 Faustian novel of love and baseball, the 1955 Broadway mega-hit Damn Yankees hits it …uh, out of the park! Middle-aged baseball fanatic Joe Boyd trades his soul to the Devil (aka Mr. Applegate) for a chance to lead his favorite team to victory in the pennant race against the New York Yankees. As young baseball sensation Joe Hardy, he transforms the hapless Washington Senators into a winning team, only to realize the true worth of the life that he’s left behind. Joe ultimately outsmarts Applegate, returns to his former self and shepherds the Senators to the World Series.

The winning score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross and a devilish book by George Abbot have made this sporty musical comedy a true American classic that includes gems like “Shoeless Joe From Hannibal Mo”, “A Man Doesn’t Know”, “Who’s Got The Pain”, “Near To You”, and the show-stopping “Whatever Lola Wants”.

Our production is directed and choreographed by Richard Jessup with music direction by Robert Ashens and features Ward Fairbairn and Dylan Stasack as protagonist Joe Boyd/Hardy, Ron Daum as Mr. Applegate, Lanny Mitchell as Van Buren, Kenady Conforth as Lola, Cindy Kenny as the long suffering Meg Boyd, and a fine cast of Shedd veterans as the Senators and everyone else!

Event Personnel

Creative Team

Richard H. Jessup, director & choreographer
Robert Ashens, music director & conductor

Cast

Ward Fairbairn, Joe Boyd
Dylan Stasack, Joe Hardy
Ron Daum, Mr. Applegate
Kenady Conforth, Lola
Cindy Kenny, Meg Boyd

Lanny Mitchell, Van Buren
Sophia James, Gloria
Thomas Guastavino, Smokey
Kara Churchill, Sister
Tate Foshay, Rocky
Claude Offenbacher, Welch
Heidi Turnquist, Doris
Matthew Leach, Sohovik

Female Ensemble

Cyra Conforth, Tessa Douangaphalvong, Hanna Foshay, Lucy Geller, Ashley Mason,

Male Ensemble

Jim Ballard, Conner Crisswell, Phil Dempsey, Sheldon Hall, Mackenzie NesSmith, Samuel Rose,

Production Team

Kristin Combs, production manager
Greg Hopper-Moore, stage manager
Amber Hagen, asst. stage manager
Chris Lewis, light & sound design
Connie Huston, scenic painter

Scenes & Musical Numbers

ACT I

Six Months Out Of Every Year

(1955) Damn Yankees

Words by Jerry Ross - Music by Richard Adler