Review in Lincolnshire: ‘Damn Yankees’ a devilishly good time at Marriott

If, like me, you’re a diehard fan of the Chicago Cubs – the “Lovable Losers” until their World Series win in 2016 – you know what it’s like to suffer. In the Tony Award-winning musical from 1956, “Damn Yankees,” now playing at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Joe Boyd (Ron E. Rains) is a decades-long fan of the Washington Senators who detests the New York Yankees’ success and his favorite team’s mediocrity. When he utters the fateful words, “I’d sell my soul for one long-ball hitter,” the devil appears in the form of a smooth-talking, slick huckster named Applegate (Sean Fortunato), and this classic musical kicks into high gear, with Marriott’s wonderfully cast production sure to please theater, romance, comedy and baseball fans alike.

Based on the novel “The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant” by Douglass Wallop, who co-wrote the book of the musical with George Abbott, “Damn Yankees” lets Joe get his wish – with Applegate sweetening the deal by letting Joe turn into the amazing ballplayer from out of nowhere, a 20-something named “Joe Hardy” (Andrew Alstat), who could well lead the Senators to the promised land of a successful playoff run. Joe Boyd is reluctant to leave his wife, Meg (Daniella Dalli), for an extended period of time – possibly forever – so he successfully asks Applegate for an escape clause: If Joe wants to return to his old life and not lose his soul, he can do so at the stroke of midnight on Sept. 24.

Will Joe be lured by success and/or Applegate’s seductress, Lola (Michelle Aravena)? Will an inquisitive reporter, Gloria Thorpe (Erica Stephan), pose an insurmountable problem for the phony background story Joe and Applegate concoct? Will Joe lose his soul and his heart? The musical answers all of these questions and more.

Fortunato’s performance alone is worth the price of a ticket. This nine-time Jefferson Award nominee, who’s appeared off-Broadway, regionally, on TV and in films, sinks his teeth, if not a pitchfork, into the role, with most of the best punchlines (“I don’t want to hear any more about your wife. Wives. They cause men more trouble than the Methodist Church … ”). He also has a fun second-act solo reminiscing about Satan’s past (“Those Were the Good Old Days”).

Countering that little devil is the angelic Meg Boyd. The more we see of Dalli during the show, the more we want to see of her character, the heroine of “Damn Yankees.” Other than the opening number in which Meg and other wives bemoan the loss of their baseball fan husbands for “Six Months Out of Every Year,” the script doesn’t give us a great idea of the love Joe and Meg Boyd have for each other. But when Alstat, as Joe Hardy, visits Meg as a potential boarder, Joe and the audience are reminded that the Boyds’ marriage is a strong one worth fighting for. The second-act song “Near to You” is especially moving.

Aravena and Stephan are both making their Marriott Theatre debuts, but have extensive theater backgrounds, Aravena appearing as Miss Argentina in a Broadway production of “Beetlejuice,” for example, and Stephan appearing in multiple Drury Lane Theatre productions. As Lola, a 172-year-old condemned soul who looks like she’s in her 20s, Aravena’s character is accustomed to easily seducing men for Applegate. The songs “Whatever Lola Wants” and “A Little Brains, A Little Talent” both give Aravena a chance to shine. Stephan’s Gloria, meanwhile, isn’t afraid to ask the tough questions about the newest member of the Senators team at the same time that she’s promoting him as a star (“Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, MO”). Stephan’s portrayal of a 1950s female sports reporter trying to be taken seriously rings true.

Under the direction of James Vásquez, the entire ensemble does excellent work, including Heidi Kettenring as “Sister,” a baseball-loving friend of Meg’s who’s especially enamored of Joe Hardy; Lorenzo Rush Jr. as the Senators’ manager who has a hilarious bit with the meaning of signals between a pitcher and catcher; and Jonah D. Winston as the suddenly proud owner of the Senators, eager to have favorable publicity for his team and its new star. Keep an eye out for various talents among the other players on the Senators, including some applause-worthy jump-rope tricks by one of the actors.

The nine-member orchestra, conducted by Noah Landis, does an excellent job throughout the show on songs like the familiar “Heart” (lyrics that speak to every fan: “We gotta get better ’cause we can’t get worse!”).

In summary, I think Marriott’s “Damn Yankees” should be a hit artistically and financially. But that’s just my ballpark estimate.

• Paul Lockwood is a singer, local theater actor, Grace Lutheran Church (Woodstock) and Toastmasters member, theater reviewer, podcaster, columnist, business proposal writer and past president of TownSquare Players. He’s lived in Woodstock for over 22 years.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “Damn Yankees”

WHERE: Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire

WHEN: Wednesday through Sunday until June 4

INFORMATION: 847-634-0200, tickets.marriotttheatre.com