Thegatewaynews.com - 'Damn Yankees' brings baseball stadium to stage

by April Helms

Special Products Editor

Sports fans -- particularly fans of the Cleveland Indians -- can indulge their love of the game with theater with Carousel Dinner Theatre's production of "Damn Yankees."

Carousel has thrown a bit of a curveball with this production: It's Cleveland Indians fans and players, not the Washington Senators (which the play usually focuses on), who are cursing the Yanks and dreaming of winning that elusive pennant.

Watching this fun, light, musical was also a bit of a trip down memory lane for me -- I was in my high school's production of "Damn Yankees" (many, many) years ago. I remembered many of the catchy tunes, such as "Heart," "Six Months Out of Every Year," "The Game," "Those were the Good Old Days" (my favorite) and, probably the best-known number, "Whatever Lola Wants."

The story itself is a sort of modern-day Faust meets sports, and is based on Douglass Wallop's novel "The Year The Yankees Lost the Pennant." Joe Boyd (played by Jerry Coyle) is a middle-aged fanatic of the Cleveland Indians and, in a fit of pique, declares he would sell his soul to see a long-drive hitter for the team. It's no surprise when the devil himself, Mr. Applegate (played with devilish energy by Jim Corti), appears to offer Joe a chance to become that star player the Indians so desperately need. So Joe Boyd becomes the younger, athletic Joe Hardy (played by Nathaniel Shaw) -- but only after forcing Applegate to agree on an escape clause. If Joe is unhappy with the arrangement, he can return to his old life and his wife Meg (played by Jan Leigh Herndon).

When Joe starts to regret his decision and leans toward using that escape clause, Mr. Applegate pulls out his major arsenal, in the sultry form of the seductress Lola (played by Ashlee Fife). Will Lola make Joe forget about his old life and keep him ensnared in the devil's clutches? Or will Lola and Joe throw a curveball of their own?

A nice touch with this production is not only the inclusion of The Cleveland Indians (with permission from the franchise), but the delving into a bit of history of the 1958 team, with the onstage baseball players "becoming" Rocky Colavito, Billy Moran, Herb Score and others. There's even an amusing, toss-off joke about Frank "Trader" Lane.

Ticket and show information

Shows run through June 28, and are Tuesday through Thursday evenings at 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:30 p.m., and Sunday evenings at 5 p.m. Matinees are Wednesday and Saturday at 2 p.m. (including a Thursday matinee on June 26). Dinner service begins two hours prior to curtain.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.CarouselDinnerTheatre.com or through the Carousel Box Office at 330-724-9855 or 800-362-4100. Box office hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Ticket prices range from $37 for matinee show-only tickets to $58 for Saturday evening dinner-and-show tickets, plus a processing fee.

Carousel Dinner Theatre is at 1275 E. Waterloo Road in Akron.