No, I’m not talking about Joe Torre. Although it’s fitting that shortly following the announcement of a Yankee becoming a Dodger manager, that Damn Yankees should debut with a Dodger theme. Specially adapted for the LA Reprise showing, Damn Yankees is the story of a man who sells his soul to the devil so that he can fulfill his lifelong dream of being a baseball player and thus ruining the Yankees chance of winning the pennant. The musical is directed by Jason Alexander and based on the book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop’s novel “The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant.”
Photo by Michael Lamont
Before the show we stopped by Tanino Ristorante Bar in Westwood Village. It’s a very nice space for Westwood. The food was nothing mind blowing though. The mushroom soufflé was just OK. I guess I didn’t know what to expect. But it was a round, solid mass of ground up mushrooms drizzled with a gruviera cheese sauce. My risotto and meatballs had great flavor but my rice was undercooked. The waiter seemed very uninterested in us and I would call him borderline slow. Not just in his service, but in his general understanding of requests from us. Simple stuff like, can we have water and what kind of wines do you have by the glass, were replied with a blank stare and hesitant, “uh huh” and “you know, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zin.”
But enough about dinner, onto those Damn Yankees…
This adaption takes a few liberties, sometimes to its own detriment. Instead of taking place in 1955 as the original play does, it now takes place in the 80’s. The style, music and dance seemed influenced by the era. As a Dodger fan one thing really bothered me about the play. The Dodgers don’t play the Yankees for season deciding pennant races. They had gotten special permission from the Abbott family to adapt the play, so perhaps they were limited by the creative license given to them. The only real similarity to the actual Dodgers seems to be when they want to introduce the new wonder rookie to meet owner Frank McCourt. Whoops, he wasn’t the owner in 1981.
My favorite, of course, was Lola played by Meg Gillentine. The devil’s seductive temptress sent in to seduce the main character Joe, so he’ll forget about his wife. After all, Lola gets what Lola wants. The rest of the cast was great as well. Cleavant Derricks as Applegate (the devil), Joe’s wife Meg was wonderfully played by Armelia McQueen. I must admit at times it was bizarre to see guys dancing and fluttering around stage in Dodger uniforms. I can’t exactly imagine Russell Martin singing Shoeless Joe From Hannibal, MO.
Show times are Tuesday through Friday evenings at 8PM (No performance Thursday November 22); Saturdays at 2PM & 8PM, and Sundays at 2PM & 7PM through Sunday, November 18. Thanksgiving week performance is Tuesday-Wednesday 8PM, Friday-Saturday 2PM & 8PM and Sunday, Nov. 25 at 2PM.
Tickets are $70 - $75. A limited number of on stage seats will be available for each performance for $35. Student/Senior rush is $20, 15 minutes before showtime (subject to availability). For tickets, please call the UCLA Central Ticket Office at 310-825-2101. For further information on Reprise! Broadway’s Best, please visit www.reprise.org.
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