In a year when Chicago Cubs fans are still basking in the afterglow of the 2016 World Series win, the choice of “Damn Yankees” as the summer musical presentation by the Wilmette Center for the Arts, in the Wilmette Park District’s historic lakefront Wallace Bowl, may seem apropos.
“Damn Yankees,” directed by Geoffrey Bleeker with a cast of 15, opened July 13. It is performed for free at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays through July 29. The show runs two hours and 20 minutes, including one intermission.
The story, by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, and with music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, tells the tale of Joe Boyd, an aging fan of the hapless Washington Senators and hater of the New York Yankees. Boyd makes a deal with the devil, in the form of slick salesman Mr. Applegate, to help the Senators win the pennant against the Yankees, by magically becoming a youthful star for the team.
Bleeker, of Chicago, said earlier this month that the show, for which auditions started in May, is about getting what you always dreamed about, then realizing it might not be what you thought it might be.
“I really, really like this show,” he said. “Because it’s about baseball, it hits that sort of American Dream, Americana … it hits definitely with Chicagoland since we’re talking about a team that had an incredible losing streak and suddenly, finally getting their big chance. I wonder if anybody in Chicago, that resonates with them?”
Chicagoan Ben Kawsky plays Boyd’s younger alter ego, Joe Hardy. He said he lives in Wrigleyville, so both the theme and timing of the musical hit home.
“I live right next to the Cubs stadium, and it’s been really fun,” he said, adding that the Cubs’ win and baseball have brought people together.
Both Bleeker and Chicagoan Molly Will, who plays the seductress Lola, said they love working at Wallace Bowl, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this summer.
Bleeker said he hopes the show makes its audience feel as if the amphitheater is like coming to a ballpark.
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Will said she loves Wallace Bowl, as a family-oriented space where people can have picnics and come and go: “Just the fact that it was built so many years ago, and just thinking about all of the past productions … it’s what theater is all about, and I just really appreciate that.”
Jenny Rudnick of Vernon Hills, who plays Joe’s long-suffering wife Meg, said she hasn’t performed outdoors before “Damn Yankees.”
“Oh, it’s lovely. I mean, the pine trees are spectacular,” she said.
For more information on Damn Yankees, visit www.wilmettepark.org/.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelance reporter