Schoolhouse
Arts Center brings a breath of summer to Maine with “Damn Yankees”, a rollicking
musical that combines the yearnings of a devoted baseball fan, a losing
team, the devil, and the pennant race to create a great evening of fun,
music, and dancing. Whether you are a fan of baseball, theater, musicals,
or comedy, there is something for everyone here in this madcap romp directed
by veteran director Tom Scannell!
It’s 1955, and Joe Boyd (played by Mike Millett,of Windham), a die-hard fan of the last-place Washington Senators, makes the classic deal with the devil (played with requisite charm by Barry Ribbons, of Windham) in order to be transformed into a 22 year old power-hitting player (played by Bill Ellis of Standish) on his favorite team. Abandoning his home and his longsuffering wife Meg (played by Heather O’Donnell, of Sebago), Joe sets off for the stadium. The team soon rallies behind Joe and make steady progress toward the pennant. Joe begins to have second thoughts about his bargain, and longs for Meg, so the devil sends in a pinch hitter - a fiery bombshell named Lola (seductively played by Lisa Latno, of Gray) - to make Joe forget about his domestic past and stick with the team to the World Series. Will the Senators crush the Yankees once and for all? Will Joe win the pennant, but lose his soul? With classic songs like “Heart”, and “Whatever Lola Wants” bewitchingly revived by musical director Cindy Gerlach, and boistrous choreography by Deb Lombard, who cares?
Take yourself out to one hell of a ballgame at Schoolhouse’s production
running Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoons
at 2 p.m. March 29 through April 14, with no performance on Easter Sunday,
March 31. Tickets, $14 for adults and $10 for students and seniors are
available by calling our box office outlet, Crossroad Games, at 642-2612
or order online. Schoolhouse is just
past the intersection of Rt 35 and Rt 114 in Standish.
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| A devilish Mr. Applegate (Barry Ribbons of Windham) consults with his able assistant Lola (Lisa Latno of Gray) |
