Applegate (Mary Gordon Murray) reminds Joe
Hardy (Eric Kunze) of his deal in the Sacramento Music Circus production of Damn
Yankees, Appearing under the tent through Aug. 10. Photo by Steve
Kolb
Walking into the Music Circus tent on
Monday night I was fully prepared for the crowd to suddenly start doing the wave.
The loudspeakers blasted out the voices of baseball
announcers; crowd noises filled the tent; and the organ played our favorite and
traditional baseball music. All that was missing was a vendor selling hot dogs and
peanuts.
This wasn't the long-awaited move of a pro baseball team
to Sacramento - it was opening night for the Music Circus' fifth production of the
summer season - Damn Yankees.
I've been a fan of Damn Yankees for as
long as I can remember. As a kid, the 1958 movie starring Ray Walston as Mr.
Applegate and Tab Hunter as Joe Hardy made a lasting impression on me.
The story of an aging baseball fan who deals with the devil
to save his beloved Washington Senators, Damn Yankees explores
love, loyalty and figuring out what's most important in life.
I haven't seen the film now in probably 20 years, so with
much anticipation I looked forward to Music Circus' adaptation of the 1955 Broadway
musical (which also starred Walston).
While Monday's opening performance was a good one, the
production as a whole lacked in several areas - most notably the casting. Which in the
"tradition" of throwing tradition out the door, Music Circus has made some innovative
casting moves in the past.
This time the Circus thought it would be a clever idea to
put a female in the role of Mr. Applegate. Sorry! Didn't work - at least not very well. I
will forever picture Walston in the Applegate role. He fit it as if it were written for him
and at the very least this should have stayed a male role.
Mary Gordon Murray filled the role as Mr. Applegate the
best she could, but the fact remains that Applegate is a male character. Murray is
decidedly female.
Tweaking the script slightly so Mr. Applegate became Ms.
Applegate would have helped. This is the devil we are talking about after all. "He"
presumably can appear as a female if it suits his fancy.
But rather than taking the easy out, the audience had to
endure the uncomfortable feeling that something wasn't quite right here and even
Murray, who deepened her delivery and spoke in a near monotone at times, didn't
seem completely comfortable with it.
It was very easy to let her slip into the background and
concentrate on the other characters throughout the show.
While Eric Kunze (Joe Hardy) and Mylinda Hunt (Lola)
generated a chemistry on stage, even their characters suffered a bit.
Kunze who was excellent in the lead role in last year's
Jesus Christ Superstar and played a great Joe Hardy, didn't exactly
look like your typical home run slugging baseball player. We'll let this one slide,
however. It was magic after all that turned him from an old man into a youthful slugger
for his beloved Washington Senators. We can't really expect him to be a big-bruiser,
as well.
Hull, who played the role of Lola opposite Jerry Lewis in
Damn Yankees' recent revival on Broadway, had a similar problem.
Hull has a lovely voice and dances gracefully around the stage, but she also looks like
a dancer. Her seductive song and dance strip routine for Joe Hardy in the Senators'
locker room brought some giggles as she shook her torso in a (non)provocative
manner. Her routine would have been better if she'd left this part out. There just
wasn't enough of her to shake.
George Ball and Teri Ralston who played the older Joe
Boyd (Hardy) and his wife Meg were splendid in their roles, as was the rest of the
supporting cast, especially the Music Circus ensemble who made up the rest of the
Washington Senators' baseball club.
Some of the synchronized baseball bat handling by the
team and other members of the cast was a sight to behold and may very well been
the highlight of the night!
And, of course, the music was fabulous! Damn
Yankees probably has some of the most memorable songs ever written for a
musical production. Even in the 20 or so years since the last time I had seen the
movie I could still remember the words to all the great songs like, "Heart," "Shoeless
Joe From Hannibal MO," "Whatever Lola Wants," and "Goodbye Old Girl."
The ending of Damn Yankees was
probably the best as Joe and his wife are reunited and the Devil realizes he (she) has
lost Joe's soul forever.
I was somewhat disappointed that the crowd held its
obligatory standing ovation until Murray took the stage, however. Kunze and Hull were
more deserving in my opinion.
Despite a few drawbacks, Damn Yankees
was still a very enjoyable outing. It's an endearing story that has withstood the test of
time and will be around for many years to come. It's a thrill for both theatre and
baseball fans alike. Damn Yankees runs through Aug. 10, with
performances through Saturday at 8 p.m. and a performance Sunday at 7:30pm.
Tickets are available at the Music Circus box office, 1419
H Street, (916) 557-1999, or any BASS outlet, (916) 923-BASS. Ticket prices range
$20-$38.
