Today in 1955, the original Broadway production of Damn Yankees opened at the 46th Street Theatre, now the Richard Rodgers and home to Hamilton. The classic musical is celebrating its 70th anniversary today!
The musical was the spiritual follow-up to 1954's The Pajama Game, which was created by much of the same team as Damn Yankees鈥攏amely book writer George Abbott and composing team Richard Adler and Jerry Ross (Douglas Wallop joined the team to co-write the Damn Yankees book). Pajama Game had won the 1954 Tony Award for Best Musical, and was a big hit, particularly for choreographer Bob Fosse. Making his Broadway debut as a choreographer with the production, numbers like "Steam Heat" had really put Fosse and his indelibly unique style on the map.
So it was no surprise the team tried to recreate magic the next season with another show. What was perhaps surprising is that they successfully did just that, arguably making Damn Yankees an even bigger and more long-lasting success. The work is based on Wallop's novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, a comedic take on the Faust legend in which a middle-aged baseball fan, Joe, sells his soul to the devil (Mr. Applegate, rather) to become a hot-shot baseball player. Joe then takes his favorite team, the struggling Washington Senators, all the way to a pennant-winning game against the titular Yankees. Yes, Virginia, sometimes musical theatre and sports do indeed overlap.
Fosse upped his game with the dances of Damn Yankees, finding a muse in Gwen Verdon, who starred as one of Mr. Applegate's minions, Lola. Their sexy number "Whatever Lola Wants," became iconic for both, with Fosse also making splashes with numbers like "Shoeless Joe From Hannibal, Mo.," "Who's Got the Pain?," and "Two Lost Souls."
Damn Yankees would deliver the team their second consecutive Best Musical Tony Award win, along with a second consecutive win for Fosse's choreography and acting wins for Verdon, Ray Walston, and Russ Brown. It would also sadly turn out to be the final collaboration between songwriters Adler and Ross, with the latter dying just five months after Damn Yankees opened on Broadway of bronchiectasis.
But Damn Yankees has lived on. The show came to the big screen in 1958, with much of the Broadway cast鈥攊ncluding Verdon鈥攁nd director-book writer Abbott (co-directing with Stanley Donen) reprising their work. Since then, the show has become a favorite at regional theatres and schools, and has returned to New York several times. A Broadway revival was mounted in 1994 with Bebe Neuwirth starring as Lola, and City Center Encores! Summer Stars series presented the show in 2008 with Jane Krakowski, Sean Hayes, and Cheyenne Jackson in the cast.
A new production with a revised book by Will Power (Fetch Clay, Make Man) and Doug Wright (Good Night, Oscar) was just announced to premiere at Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage this fall, so we may see it back in New York soon.
Take a look back at the original Broadway production of Damn Yankees in the gallery below.
To learn about other theatre events that occurred May 5, visit the 半岛体育 Vault.
