(© Joseph Marzullo/Retna)
Principal casting has been announced for the Reprise! Broadway’s Best production of the Richard Adler-Jerry Ross musical Damn Yankees, to run at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse, November 6-25. The show, which will officially open on November 7, will be directed by Jason Alexander, with choreography by Lee Martino.
This version of the show, about a middle-aged baseball fan who sells his soul to the devil so his favorite team will win the pennant, will feature a largely African-American cast, and the time period will be updated from Washington, D.C. in the 1950s to Los Angeles in 1981.
The show will star Cleavant Derricks as Applegate, Meg Gillentine as Lola, Jackée Harry as Sister, Lesli Margherita as Gloria Thorpe, Armelia McQueen as Meg, Ken Page as Joe Boyd, Ty Taylor as Joe Hardy, and Lillias White as Dory. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.
The original 1955 Broadway production, starring Gwen Verdon and Ray Walston, ran for over 1,000 performances. Verdon and Walston also starred in the film version, along with Tab Hunter as Joe Hardy. The 1994 Broadway revival starred Bebe Neuwirth, Victor Garber, and Jarrod Emick as Joe, for which he won the Tony Award.
