SOUTH PORTLAND – The musical “Damn Yankees” will open the Lyric Music Theater’s season with performances Sept. 24-26, Oct. 1-3 and Oct. 7-9.
The theater plans to add a fourth weekend if the show is sold out by the second week, according to a spokesman.
Directed by Vincent Knue, the show has a book by Douglass Wallop and George Abbot, and lyrics and music by Jerry Ross and Richard Adler. It’s based on the novel “The Year The Yankees Lost The Pennant” by Wallop.
In the musical, the Yankees are the best team in baseball, the Senators are the worst. To win against the Yankees, especially in a pennant race, the Senators would have to have a little supernatural help. To Joe Boyd, a loyal Senators fan, it would even be worth a deal with the devil to see his favorite team beat those damn Yankees. The devious Mr. Applegate, with a little help from a lovely lady named Lola, has just such deal in mind. With great songs like “Whatever Lola Wants” and “Heart,” this light, fast-paced and devilishly clever production is sure to provide a winning evening no matter who you root for, according to the spokesman.
“Damn Yankees” opened in New York in 1955 starring Ray Walston, Gwen Verdon, Stephen Douglass and Jean Stapleton. An immediate success, it won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The original production was immediately followed by a national tour and a film version from Warner Brothers in 1958. In 1967, “Damn Yankees” was presented as a television production. In 1994, the play was revived on Broadway in a production that featured Jerry Lewis in a leading role.
Shows are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2:30 p.m. Sundays in the theater at 176 Sawyer St., off Broadway. Directions are on the Web site, www.lyricmusictheater.com.
Tickets: $17 and $15. For reservations, call (207) 799-1421 or (207) 799-6509.
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