Batter up! Arts Express Theatre is kicking off their 2024-25 Season with multi-Tony award winning classic, “Damn Yankees,” May 7 – 23. Performances run Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., with matinees Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.
Based on the Faust legend and set in the 1950s when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball, Washington Senators superfan Joe Boyd (Ben Anderson) would give anything to see his team beat those “Damn Yankees.” Enter Applegate (Diane Bertrand-Goldsmith), aka Lucifer, who offers Joe the deal of a lifetime, to become the best MLB player ever. All it costs is his soul. Clever Joe manages to get Applegate to agree to an escape clause, and saying a wistful goodbye to his beloved wife, Meg (Tiff Jensen), the deal is sealed.
Joe Boyd is quickly transformed into the young, handsome Joe Hardy (Matt Milne), and it doesn’t take long for the Washington Senators to bring Joe aboard. Everything is turning up roses for Joe and the Senators, but not wanting to lose the deal, Applegate sends her most seductive temptress, Lola (Isabel “Bella” Shea) to entice Joe to stray from the path. Will Joe succumb to the lure of fame and all its trappings, or will Joe give it all up for the love of the woman he loves?
With such classic musical theater favorites as “Heart,” “Whatever Lola Wants (Lola Gets),” and “A Man Doesn’t Know”, audiences are sure to fall in love with “Damn Yankees.” With a witty and lively book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and nostalgic, upbeat music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, get on your feet and cheer for the win for the cast of “Damn Yankees” at Arts Express Theatre!
Directed by Michael Stewart, with music direction by Aubry Wilkes and choreography by Roger Prenger.
For tickets, visit https:// www.arts-express.org/in-the-heights/ or call the Arts Express Theatre Box Office at (520) 319-0400.
ABOUT ARTS EXPRESS THEATRE
Arts Express Theatre is southern Arizona’s leading musical theatre company, staging large-scale professional quality musical theater productions throughout the year. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, AET is committed to opening the arts to all ages. It serves over 25,000 people annually through a continuum of introductory and advanced programs, and engaging audience experiences.
