Review: DAMN YANKEES Scores at Palm Canyon Theatre

DAMN YANKEES is one of those fun, classic musical comedies with no message and familiar tunes. The show is a bit too long, and many of the lyrics are dated. Still, in the hands of a company such as Palm Canyon Theatre, a community theatre with the expertise to present large-cast musicals, the feel-good, dance-intensive show will leave the audience smiling and humming.

DAMN YANKEES, with book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, and music and lyrics by Jerry Ross and Richard Adler, played on Broadway for 1019 performances, from May 5, 1955 through October 12, 1957, a respectable run in those days. Bob Fosse originally staged the dances and musical numbers. The show's well-known songs include, "You've Gotta Have Heart," "Whatever Lola Wants," and "Those were the Good Old Days."

The story is ludicrous, and the writers don't tell it very well, but the plot isn't what has endeared the show to multiple generations of theatregoers. The serpentine plot involves crazed middle-aged Washington Senators fan Joe Boyd (Donald Kelley), who is tired of watching his team lose, especially to the mighty New York Yankees. For those too young to remember, Washington, DC had two hapless American league baseball franchises named the Senators, both of which abandoned the city after less than stellar records, the first to become the Minnesota Twins and the second the Texas Rangers. The current DC National League team, the Nationals, have shown themselves worthy of respect, but the Nats and the expansion teams are all still in the future when DAMN YANKEES takes place - the late 1950's - before divisions and wild cards, before annual playoffs, before inter-league play, and before designated hitters.

After a particularly depressing Senators loss, a mysterious individual named Mr. Applegate (Paul Grant) appears to Joe and offers him the chance to be a 22-year-old hero leading his team into the World Series. Mr. Applegate, who cheerfully reveals that he is actually the Devil, wants Joe's soul in return. Joe thinks quickly and demands an escape clause: the opportunity to back out in the five minutes between 11:55 p.m. and midnight on the night of September 24th, the day before the last regular game of the season. Despite Joe's snatching at Mr. Applegate's offer, he loves his wife, Meg (Mary Ewing), and insists on leaving a note that says he is going away and will be back in a few months.

Thanks to Mr. Applegate, the 22-year-old Joe, a phenom now known as Joe Hardy (Nicholas Sloan) pulls the Senators up to the point where they just might edge the Yankees out to win the National League pennant. Joe, however, misses his wife, and Mr. Applegate dispatches his go-to troubleshooter, Lola (Allegra Angelo), who is actually his best troublemaker, to seduce Joe to keep him from exercising the escape provision in the contract.

Se Layne, as director, keeps the show visually and aurally exciting. She has a lot of good material to work with; the talented cast in Palm Canyon's version makes the most of the goofball story, with their great acting and singing. The men's chorus is fantastic, as are the rest of the ensemble singers. The leading cast members (Mr. Sloan as Joe Hardy, Ms. Angelo as Lola, Mr. Grant as Mr. Applegate) are charismatic actors and accomplished singers.

Anthony Nannini's choreography gives the most expert dancers complex material (Mr. Nannini, Ms. Angelo, Mr. Sloan, and Stan Jenson, who plays the team manager, are the ones I can recall offhand), while the others perform supporting routines. No matter their level of technical capability, however, all the dancers perform with grace and panache, although some of the men had difficulty staying together the night I attended.

J.W. Layne's set design is fabulous - a platform at extreme stage right looks like the bleachers in an old ballpark. Artistic drawings of ballplayers decorate the set. The general manager's office has a triangular Senators' flag, and a display of actual logos. The costume design must have required as much research as the set because the Senators apparently did not wear home game uniforms with the team name across the front as most major league teams did; instead, their white home uniforms contained a blue "W," for Washington. Costume designer Derik Shopinski duplicated the look perfectly, down to the belt loops. He also did a great job with the women's clothing of the late 1950's, when pants were declasse, and women donned girdles and nylons to shop at Macy's. Mr. Shopinski's dress design took me back to my mother's garb during my early childhood. The wigs (by Mado Nunez) are not exact copies of the hairdos of the era, but they certainly evoke the 1950s' sprayed coiffures.

There were a few glitches the night I attended. The set uses background projections, and twice, the wrong one came up. Some of the ensemble members mumbled their spoken lines. There were a few mishaps with the sound, including that the musical trio drowned out the singers for much of the performance. The trio, consisting of Steven Smith, musical director and piano; David Bronson, drums; and Larry Holloway, bass, is fabulous, but their sound needs to be better balanced with the voices.

The rest of the cast and crew consists of Jack Ramoran (sound design); JW Layne (lighting design); Nick Wass (stage manager and props); Kathleen Anderson (Doris); Leslie Benjamin (Ensemble); Alan Berry (Mr. Welch); Christine Carter (Miss Weston); Samuel David (Mickey); Ashley Davies (Gloria); Argenis Espinoza (Lowe); Jamie Gooding (Ensemble); Jonathan Hatsios (Sohovic); Emily Herrera (Ensemble); Emilia Jimenez (Ensemble); Matthew Ojeda (Vernon); Denise Rooney (Ensemble); Jesus Sandoval (Henry); Derik Shopinski (Commissioner); Virginia Sulick (Sister); Mat Tucker (Rocky); Nick Wass (Linville).

Despite the minor problems here and there, PCT's production of DAMN YANKEES is well worth seeing. The show will run through April 15th, with performances Thursday, April 12th at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday April 13th through April 14th, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, April 15th at 2 p.m. Tickets, priced at $32 and $36, are available online, by clicking the "tickets" link at www.palmcanyontheatre.org; by calling (760)323-5123; or by visiting the box office. Box office hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The box office's email is BoxOffice@PalmCanyonTheatreOnline.info .

Palm Canyon Theatre is located at 538 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262, where N. Palm Canyon Drive and N. Indian Canyon Drive cross Alejo Road.

PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Hayashi

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