Damn Yankees at the Paper Mill Playhouse

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Damn Yankees, playing at the Paper Mill Playhouse at 22 Brookside Drive in Millburn, is a home run hit. Playing through April 1, this award winning musical will thrill audiances eight times a week with it’s upbeat numbers like “Those Were the Good Old Days”, “Heart” and the saucy “Whatever Lola Wants”. Paper Mill Playhouse, winner of two 2011 People’s Choice Awards, makes great theater accessable to everyone. Bringing some of Broadway’s biggest blockbusters to New Jersey’s residents and casting brilliant actors, spending a night out at the theater doen’t have to break the bank.

You can see the lights of Broadway stars right here in NJ- such as the devilish Howard McGillin, who plays Mr. Applegate (and appeared on Broadway on The Phantom of the Opera’s title character for ten years) Joseph Kalinski, (who just appeared on Broadway in “Follies” and plays Joe Boyd in this production) and Patti Cohenour (“Meg”, whose career has spanned Broadway, opera, and the ballet). The Devil may care what goes on across the tunnel- Damn Yankees has an amazing and award winning team right here. Even if lots of us do love the Yankees.

Joe Boyd, the Washington Senators baseball team’s biggest fan, loves his team a little too much. Add to that a little nostalgia to his baseball playing days of yore, and this spells trouble. When a scoundrel with his eyes on Joe’s soul sets in, it’s too much for him, and he signs on the dotted line (so to speak). The devil offers Joe the chance to return to his youth, be 22 years old, and the best ballplayer the world has ever seen- and finally beat those “damn Yankees”. While Joe makes the team and leads them into victories, he misses his wife, Meg, whom he left with only a note more then he ever thought he would.

Chryssie Whitehead made a loveable Lola, and was a pleasure to watch. The game between Lola and Joe Hardy, and later Lola and Mr. Applegate, was a fun transition and made her more likeable as a character, made you root for her and feel for her. Christopher Charles Wood (Joe Hardy) was adorable as the insecure, famous, “out of nowhere” ball player who saved the Washington Senators, but may lose his soul. When young Joe goes back to see the wife that he misses so much, it will break your heart.

Showstopping musical numbers for me were ‘Heart’ (‘You gotta have heart’) set in the Senators’ locker room. Ray DeMattis as the Senators’ manager and the ballplayers as well as Nancy Anderson (Gloria Thorpe) preform. “Whatever Lola Wants” was such fun to watch- back in the locker room, Lola attempts to seduce Joe, but he will have none of it. Well…almost none. The eternal struggle of man vs. woman plays out- with the addition of the third, unseen woman (Meg, the wife), and a fourth, unseen man (the devil and catalyst). “Who’s Got the Pain”, the last number in the first act, Lola and a few of the ball players are putting on a show for Joe. The song was just fun, preformed by Lola and four men. The four men in the number were standouts all night, and I enjoyed the chance to see them in a smaller group then an entire ensemble. Robbie Roby, Grady McLeod Bowman, and Taurean Everett were fantastic performers. From facial gestures to fingertips, they were so thoroughly in the performance that my eyes went right to them every time they were on stage.

Damn Yankees will run at the Millburn theater through Sunday, April 1, 2012 and will be performed eight times a week, Wednesday through Sunday. Single tickets are on sale from $25. Tickets may be purchased by calling 973-376-4343, at the Paper Mill Playhouse Box Office at 22 Brookside Drive in Millburn, or online at www.papermill.org. Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express accepted. Groups of ten or more can receive up to a 25% discount on tickets and should call 973-315-1680.