Although the holiday season is upon us and we are getting ready for winter weather, the boys of summer are going strong at Lakefield College School in their production of the classic Broadway hit Damn Yankees.
Directed by Geoff and Rachel Bemrose, Damn Yankees is the latest musical to come out of Lakefield College School’s phenomenal dramatic arts program. A Faustian tale filled with comedy, song, romance, and other devilish delights, Damn Yankees is an unexpected but welcomed addition to this year’s theatrical season.
Based on a 1954 novel by Douglas Wallop novel titled The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, Damn Yankees was conceived for the stage by author and producer George Abbott with music by the songwriting team of Jerry Ross and Richard Adler.
The show made its debut in May 1955 at the 46th Street Theater in New York. Celebrating America’s love for baseball, the show was an instant hit and won seven Tony Awards in 1956, including best musical. The show would run for an astonishing 1019 performances, making it one of the biggest Broadway successes of the era.
In 1958, George Abbott directed the big screen version of Damn Yankees where, in a rare occurrence in Hollywood, the entire Broadway cast reprised their stage roles, with the exception of one key role: the stage’s star Stephen Douglas was replaced by 50s’ heartthrob Tab Hunter in the role of Joe Boyd. The film picked up an Academy Award nomination for best music, but lost to Gigi. Since then, Damn Yankees has been considered one of the classical standards of the Broadway stage, and musical numbers such as “Heart” and “Whatever Lola Wants” have become part of the American songbook.
Damn Yankees is the story of insurance salesman, and Washington Senators fan, Joe Boyd (played by Ben Dunk in the Lakefield College School production). Obsessed with baseball, Joe thinks about little else for six months a year, much to the chagrin of his suffering wife (Ally Lovick).
But, with the New York Yankees being a virtual juggernaut in the American League, Joe is frustrated to see his beloved Senators lose again and again. That is when Joe makes the statement that he’d sell his soul for the Senators to win the pennant.
Enter the mysterious Mr. Applegate (Arsh Momi) who offers Joe a deal of a lifetime. For the price of his soul, Applegate will use his devilish power to turn Joe young again and give him the athletic prowess to guide the Senators to victory.
Realizing that it’s a risky deal, Joe makes a deal with the devil but creates an escape clause to walk away from his sports stardom if it doesn’t work out the way he wants. Soon Joe is in uniform as the Senators’ star player under the moniker Shoeless Joe Hardy (now played by Noah Storey).
When Joe soon begins to miss his wife and the life he left behind, Applegate conspires against him by pulling out every trick he has up his sleeve so he can possess Joe’s soul, including a sultry demoness named Lola (Madison Sheward). Can Joe help the Senators win the pennant and still return home to the life he left behind? If so, he’ll have to do some fancy pitching to beat the devil.
When I learned Lakefield College School was doing Damn Yankees, my first thought was that it was an odd choice for the group. Classical musicals have seem to have gone out of vogue in the Kawarthas, with most groups opting for more contemporary shows.
After I asked Geoff Bemrose why he chose this particular show, he revealed he has a soft spot for it because it was one of the first shows he did when he was in school. Furthermore, he wanted to go back and do a classic musical. Personally, I think it’s charming to see a classic on the stage being done by a talented young cast, and Geoff definitely had a great idea.
It’s always a treat to go to Lakefield College School to see the yearly musical, and Geoff and Rachel and their students always deliver. This year I noticed far fewer familiar faces in the cast, with many of the school’s most talented theatre students from the past two years having graduated.
Damn Yankees is a chance for a fresh group of students to step up into the leading roles. The result is a showcase of new faces and voices, which made watching Damn Yankees an interesting experience for someone like me who has become familiar with previous productions.
As Joe Boyd, Ben Dunk’s presence on stage is rather limited as his character is replaced by a younger version of himself, and thus another actor entirely, for the majority of the show. But in the time he has on stage, Ben creates a sensitive character as an aging ball fan who, given a chance at his dreams, must choose between his wife and baseball. The most interesting thing about Ben’s performance is his unique singing voice. A beautiful singer, Ben gives a sensitive performance of “Goodbye Old Girl”.
In the role of Shoeless Joe Hardy, Ben’s replacement Noah Storey brings a new energy to the stage, while still continuing the same sense of pathos that Ben brought to the character. Although Damn Yankees is a high-energy musical comedy, Noah’s on-stage chemistry with Ally Lovick, who gives an outstanding performance as Joe’s abandoned wife Meg, is just wonderful. The pair really is able to bring a sense of drama to this otherwise outrageous comedy.
But there is no doubt that the true scene stealer of the show is Arsh Momi as Mr. Applegate. Arsh has a Raymond Burr like quality that is big and imposing, and he plays devious and cunning very well. With a sly smirk and a smooth charm, Arsh is the perfect stage villain, and he plays the role of the devil with tons of charisma, dominating the stage each time he steps onto it.
However, where Arsh meets his true match is with Madison Sheward in the role of Lola. Madison is one of those rare performers who goes beyond being a triple threat — she’s a quadruple threat. Madison can not only act, sing and dance, but she is also an extremely funny girl with perfect comic timing. Madison has an incredible stage presence as well, and she has “future star” written all over her. She is a complete dynamo and I was both amazed by her limberness and amused by her one liners. It’s a fantastic performance from a bright new talent.
But my favorite scenes of the show were those involving the Washington Senators. A rag-tag misfit team of losers, these guys have tons of heart and the comradery between the actors in these scenes always shone through. Comprised of Sebastian Smith, Matthieu Colineau, Zachary Chiagozie, Quinn MacMillan, Max McWilliams, James Wootton, Tyler Witham, Alex Forde, and Eric Xia, with Liam Davidson as their frustrated yet optimistic coach Benny Van Buren, each time these guys took the stage they made me want to laugh.
From their “American” accents to their relentless gum chomping, the ball players are just in sync with one another, and are a huge part of the fun of the show. I just loved these guys, and they are such an important element to the show. While the plot may revolve around their star player Joe, the rest of the male ensemble are truly the heart of this show.
I also want to give shout-outs to another two players in the show. Catherine Kim, who plays reporter Gloria Thorpe, leads the company in “Shoeless Joe, From Hannibal, Mo”, which is possibly the best production number of the show. Catherine is an absolute spitfire in this number and really displays her talents as a singer and dancer.
I also want to give a shout-out to Paras Cheema in the role of team owner Mr. Welch. Another big personality, despite being in a smaller role, Paras may have a future in playing mafia men in this great character part.
The Lakefield College School musical has become one of the highlights of my job as an arts and culture journalist, and Geoff and Rachel Bemrose know how to produce a great show and get young casts to give great performances.
After losing so many of their stars from their previous shows, the Bemroses faced a challenge with Damn Yankees by introducing so many new performers to the spotlight — but it’s a real delight. I loved seeing so many new faces in the company, and I can’t wait to see them all again in the next production.
But the best thing about every Lakefield College School musical is that it is absolutely free to go and see. A high-quality production at no cost is a rare treat, and the best reason of all to go and see Damn Yankees. It’s a great night out for the entire family, and a show that is a real winner.
Damn Yankees will be performed at the Bryan Jones Theatre at Lakefield College School from November 28th until December 1at at 7:30 p.m. Admission to all performances is free.
