Burlington County Footlighters Damn Yankees Has Heart
by Brian K. Herrick
“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” While this Babe Ruth quote was definitely not intended for a review of the Burlington County Footlighters production of Damn Yankees, it definitely encapsulates the dedication and perseverance of a team clearly committed to the “Heart” of this story. From the moment you step into the intimate 100 seat house, you’re immediately transported back into an era that predates the theme park-esque stadiums we have now, but rather a palpable energy that can only be associated with 9 innings of a true blue American game of Baseball. From the underscore of old school radio commentary, to the teen ensemble hawking hot dogs (with plenty of “CONDIMENTS” readily available), it’s clear the cast and crew wanted to feel like it was game time. By the time overture started, I was longing for my old mitt and a game of catch.
Damn Yankees is a true golden age musical comedy, set in the 1950’s, during a period in which your average baseball viewer would groan watching the New York Yankees dominate Major League Baseball year after year. Based on the 1954 novel The Year The Yankees Lost The Pennant, it chronicles middle-aged real estate agent Joe Boyd (Ray Rebilas), and his rocky relationship supporting the (how shall we say) struggling “Washington Senators” baseball team. His wife, Meg Boyd (Amanda Dranchek) laments about the monopolizing of attention this team takes (“Six Months Out Of The Year”), with a refrain from the adult ensemble (cleverly staged by director Valerie Brothers and Choreographer Liz Baldwin).
However, it is not until after this sequence that the fun truly begins. As Joe exclaims that he’d sell his soul for a “long ball hitter” to beat those “Damn Yankees”, a smooth-talking Mr. Applegate (charmingly played by BCF Artistic Director himself, Al Krier) suddenly appears and gives Joe the chance of a lifetime (or many lifetimes if all goes according to plan). He offers Joe a “deal with the Devil” to become a younger version of himself (where he will go by Joe Hardy instead of Joe Boyd, as to not draw suspicion), and exactly the slugger he knows the Senators need to reestablish themselves as a powerhouse team that can stand a chance against their New York rivals. Joe agrees to this deal, with a caveat by Mr. Applegate that if plays in the last game of the season, he is to stay as Joe Hardy forever. If not, he has until 9pm the night before to walk away from the deal and return to his “normal” life.
Joe Hardy (played by BCF regular and superb vocalist, Matt Becker) is introduced, and his dreams begin to come true. Through a series of events that one might even deem as farcical, Joe joins the team, gets the fame, and embarks on a journey that not only affirms his love of the game, but his appreciation for his life as Joe Boyd. I’ll leave the rest for your viewing pleasure, but the true rock of this show comes in the form of the ensemble scenes featuring the Washington Senators themselves, and their fearless leader Coach Van Buren (played brilliantly by Tim Herman). Herman’s physical embodiment and brilliant interpretation of every line was a masterclass in musical comedy. From his introductory monologue to his heartwarming rendition of “Heart”, every time Herman stepped on stage all I could think was “well now we’re in for a treat”.
I’ve never seen a production of Damn Yankees before, and I was taken aback by what a complete beast this show is stemming from the need for a larger cast of characters than most modern musicals. Amongst this group, a standout that immediately comes to mind is BCF regular leading lady, Alex Davis, completely knocking hard hitting reporter “Gloria Thorpe” out of the park. Through her nuanced line reads, stellar vocals on “Shoeless Joe”, and genuine delivery, Davis proves why she is a go to standout performer on the BCF stage. I can’t wait to see where she shines next.
Some other noteworthy performances are Ian Mulreany’s performance as the dopey yet completely loveable Senators player “Smokey”, Dan Brother’s compelling and grounded speeches as Senator’s owner “Mr. Welch”, and Andrea Veneziano as Meg Boyd’s friend and associate, “Sister”. Every time Veneziano stepped on stage she found a way to tactfully make this character her own and take some laughs along with her. She really shined. All in all, the collective ensemble seemed to glow with joy and their passion was infectious. Their hard work paid off, as they drew your intention with every group number.
You can tell the care Music Director Peg Smith went into not just teaching parts, but getting performers so comfortable with the music that the lackluster backing tracks were not a detriment to some really great vocals (most particularly of note the Senator’s vocals and harmonies on “Heart” were truly stellar). Same can be said for choreographer Liz Baldwin who really found a way to use a limited amount of space with a large amount of performers to her advantage, with innovative means of not just executing choreography, but challenging the performers to showcase their strengths. Costume designer (Jen Scache Bloomberg), also deserves a special mention for tackling this monster of a show head on. The attention to detail, and flattering garments that stayed in the period, really showcased every performer at their best.
The biggest highlight to any BCF show is always Jim Frazer’s brilliant use of the limited space this intimate performance space possesses. There was a nice masking technique with some foldable flats that allowed for covering some scene changes. My only grievance is that maybe the dearth of set pieces could have been scaled back a bit to accommodate some very drawn-out transition sequences. I’m chalking it up to opening night jitters, but some of the transitions between scenes were very visible and looked like (sometimes) organized chaos. Perhaps if the crew (who were absolutely working their tails off. Great work!) were wearing period-based clothing and there was more music to underscore these changes it could make these transition periods less jarring from the actual scene work.
All in all, Damn Yankees was a nice palate cleanser Theatrical experience. It offered a night of low stakes entertainment. Although the execution of certain tech elements were not the sharpest and the writing is dated in a way that probably could use some sprucing up to make it more palatable for a 2023 audience (I don’t know that a character written with a stutter for laughs is appropriate or necessary), at its core it's a piece with true “Heart”. For one night you get to take yourself back to an era before the hustle and bustle of constant communication. An era when the most exciting thing you could do with your Friday night was watch an invigorating game of America’s greatest pastime.
Damn Yankees runs weekends from now until May 20th.
