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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">DAMN
YANKEES
an enjoyable evening of escapist theatre at Porthouse</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Roy Berko</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Palatino;color:black">(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics
Circle)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Probably the
golden age of musical theatre in the US was from 1950 to 1960.<span style> </span>Great scripts like <span style="text-transform:uppercase">King and I, My Fair Lady, </span>and <span style="text-transform:uppercase">West Side Story</span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">were staged.<span style> </span>Also produced were such flops as <span style="text-transform:uppercase">Salad Days, Zuleika, Ankles Away, The Vamp, ShaNgri-La, Shinbone
Alley, </span>and <span style="text-transform:uppercase">Free As Air.<span style> </span>M</span>ost shows were of the
neither great nor flop variety.<span style>
</span>These included the likes of <span style="text-transform:uppercase">Call
Me Madam, Guys and Dolls, Paint Your Wagon, Can-Can, Wonderful Town, Fanny, </span>and<span style="text-transform:uppercase"> The Pajama Game.</span> <span style="text-transform:uppercase"><span style> </span>A</span>lso<span style="text-transform:uppercase"> </span>included
in the list was DAMN YANKEES, now on stage at Porthouse Theatre.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">With a book
by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and
Jerry Ross, it is a modern retelling of the Faust legend which takes place in
the 1950s in Washington, DC.<span style>
</span>Its an escapist piece that makes no attempt to make a philosophical
point nor give a snapshot of the real world.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">The story
concerns Joe Boyd, a long suffering fan of the Washington Senators baseball
team.<span style> </span>He fantasizes that the
Senators will beat the hated New York Yankees.<span style> </span>He also has a secret desire to be an all-star who plays for
his favorite team.<span style> </span>As the saying
goes, be careful what you wish for.<span style>
</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">The devil, in
the form of red-sock-wearing, horned-headed Mr. Applegate, mysteriously appears
to offer Boyd a chance for his desires to come true.<span style> </span>The only hitch is that Joe has to give his soul to the devil
when the season ends. <span style> </span>Boyd, in desperation,
agrees.<span style> </span></span><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a"><span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a">As the Senators fortunes
soar, Joe realizes hes losing his beloved wife (<i style>Goodbye Old Girl</i>) and looks for a loophole. Enter temptress
Lola (<i style>Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets)</i>,
a charter member of the Home Wreckers Hall of Fame who surprisingly turns out
to be his ally. What will happen?<span style>
</span>Will the devil </span><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">prevail?<span style> </span>Come on now, this is a musical comedy.<span style> </span></span><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a">The shows track to success
was not easy.<span style> </span>The 1955 Broadway
opening was met with mixed, mostly negative reviews.<span style> </span>The next day the writing team got together, cut one number,
switched another from the second act to the first, cut twenty minutes of
dialogue, and rewrote the ending.<span style>
</span>The changes went in that very evening.<span style> </span>An invitation to the reviewers brought them back to the
theatre and garnered much more positive comments.<span style> </span>This was enough to make the show a modest 1019 production
run.<span style> </span>By comparison, MY FAIR LADYs
original Big Apple run was 2717 showings.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a">DAMN YANKEES is a good script
choice for the Porthouse audience who tends to like folksy musicals, with lots
of dancing and fantasy.<span style> </span>They
do not tend to be the NEXT TO NORMAL, RENT or SPRING AWAKENING crowd.<span style> </span>Give them patter, humor and happy
endings and they seem content to stand and cheer the final curtain.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a">The production, under the
sprightly direction of Terri Kent, moves along quickly, has dynamic production
numbers, and pleases.<span style> </span>Kent is
fortunate to have MaryAnn Black and Eric van Baars, Kent State faculty members
and Porthouse favorites, to cast.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a">Black, who defies age, high
kicks, struts her stuff, and wiggles her fanny with the best of them.<span style> </span>While contemporaries, the likes of<span style> </span>Gwen Verdon, who played the role of
Lola in the New York production, have faded, Black continues to entrance audiences.<span style> </span>This is one talented lady who knows how
to control a stage.<span style> </span>Her versions
of <i style>A Little Brains, a Little Talent</i>
and <i style>Whatever Lola Wants</i> were show
stoppers.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a">van Baars, who often comes
front and center when Porthouse needs a character to do shtick, inhabits the
role of Mr. Applegate, made famous by Ray Walston on Broadway, with ease.<span style> </span>While there are times when there could
have been a little more devil-like scheming, as a whole, sported by
hysterically appropriate devilish costumes, he makes us believe the devil is
amongst us.<span style> </span>His <i style>Those Were The Good Old Days</i> was fun.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a">As<span style> </span>Joe Hardy, the reinvention of Joe Boyd, boy-next-door
handsome Michael Glavan, is typecast perfect.<span style> </span>He looks and acts baseball jock in an unassuming and aw
schucks folksy way.<span style> </span>He has an
excellent singing voice, moves well, and gives a nice texturing to the
role.<span style> </span>His <i style>A Man Doesnt Know </i>was charming.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a">Mary Anne Provost develops a
clear character as Boyds wife. Lenne Snively and Lissy Gulick are hoots as two
ditzy baseball-addicted fans, Marc Moritz has some nice moments as Joe Boyd,
and Rohn Thomas is believable as the Senators manager.<span style> </span>Each of the chorus of baseball players
develops a unique character, singing and dancing with vigor and ability.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a">Highlight numbers included:<span style> </span><i style>The
Game</i>, <i style>Two Lost Souls</i>, <i style>Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, MO</i>, and <i style>Heart</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a">John Crawfords choreography
fits the mood of the production.<span style>
</span>Jonathan Swobodas musical direction is on target.<span style> </span>His musicians support rather than drown
out the singers.<span style> </span>Ben Needhams
turntable set works well.<span style> </span>Jan
Evans costumes, especially those designed for van Baars, help create the
proper mood.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a"><span style> </span></span><i style><span style="font-family:Palatino">CAPSULE JUDGMENT: </span></i><i style><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#1a1a1a">DAMN YANKEES is not a great script, but quality
singing and dancing, and a solid cast, headed by MaryAnn Black, Eric vanBaars
and Michael Glavan, create an enjoyable evening of summer entertainment.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">The show runs until <span style> </span>at Porthouse Theatre, on the grounds of
Blossom Music Center.<span style> </span>For tickets
call 330-672-3884 or go online to <a href="http://www.porthousetheatre.com">www.porthousetheatre.com</a>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">NEXT UP AT PORTHOUSE:<span style> </span>Kander and Ebbs THE WORLD GOES ROUND,
a review-type show featuring music from CHICAGO, CABARET, FUNNY LADY, and KISS
OF THE SPIDER WOMAN from July 5-21.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"><span style="color:rgb(204,0,0)"></span><br>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<br>