Damn Yankees (musical)

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Musical dates
Title: Football fever
Original title: Damn Yankees
Original language: English
Music: Richard Adler and Jerry Ross
Book: George Abbott and Douglas Wallop
Lyrics: Richard Adler and Jerry Ross
Literary source: Douglas Wallop's The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant
Premiere: May 5th 1955
Place of premiere: new York
Place and time of the action: Washington and New York at the time of the premiere
Roles / people
  • Joe Boyd, 50 year old baseball fan
  • Same as Joe Hardy at the age of 22
  • Meg, his wife
  • Sister and Doris, their friends
  • Mr. Applegate, the devil
  • Lola, his colleague
  • The baseball players Henry, Sohovik, Smoky, Rocky and Vernon
  • Benny Van Buren, trainer
  • Gloria Thorpe, sports reporter
  • Welch, owner of the "Washington Senators"
  • Bryant, his assistant
  • Miss Weston, secretary
  • Lynch, newspaper reporter
  • Baseball commissioner
  • Postmaster
  • Baseball fans, kids, reporters

Damn Yankees (in German "Damn Yankees", but the German title is "Football Fever") is a musical in two acts by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross . The two not only wrote the music, but also the lyrics. Otherwise the libretto is by George Abbott and Douglas Wallop . The latter is also the author of the novel "The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant" on which the libretto is based. The novel in turn deals with a modern form of the Faust saga . The musical premiered on May 5, 1955 at the 46th Street Theater in New York City . In German-speaking countries, the play was staged for the first time in the Stadttheater Oberhausen . Franklin Fanning had done the translation and at the same time edited the musical for German standards.

Preliminary remark

The musical is about baseball, a very popular sport in the USA . If the play is staged in German-speaking countries, “baseball” is usually replaced by “ football ” and the plot is moved to the location of the performance. The clubs then have names that are familiar to the audience, for example at the German-language premiere of “Rot-Weiß Oberhausen”. Consequently, the people involved then also have mostly German names.

action

first act

Joe Boyd is passionate about Washington Senators baseball club. He has just seen his team lose to the " New York Yankees " again on television , which he acknowledges with the curse "Damn Yankees". His wife Meg has just gone to bed when he receives an unexpected visit from the devil in the form of the businessman Mr. Applegate. He offers him a pact: he will turn him into a 22-year-old, brilliantly gifted baseball player named Joe Hardy, who will lead his beloved team to the championship. In return, Joe would have to write his soul to him. Joe accepts, but stipulates that the contract would not be valid if he decided not to play it before the decisive game in September.

Mr. Applegate himself leads his protégé to the "Senators". He pretends to be a reporter for a Hannibal daily newspaper who has heard of the concerns of the "Senators". Because he is a big fan of theirs, he wants to free them from their troubles. He touts Joe as a very promising talent, and after he has given a brief test of his skills, he is immediately accepted into the team.

A few weeks later, Joe is fed up with staying at the hotel all the time. Because his wife Meg is looking for a subtenant, he successfully applies for the room. Mr. Applegate fears that his protégé may be unfaithful to him. So he orders his assistant Lola to ensnare the young man with all her charms. Lola also goes to great lengths to seduce the player, but unfortunately she fails to succeed.

The season is coming to an end. So far it has gone well for the "Senators". If they win the upcoming second to last game, they would be at the goal of their dreams. Then the journalist Gloria Thorpe bursts in with the news that her research had shown that Joe was a player from the Mexican league who had been banned for life for unfair machinations and was therefore smuggled into the American league under a false name. In the hustle and bustle of anticipation, however, their words fall on no fertile ground. Then she turns to a higher authority and has Joe summoned to an arbitration tribunal.

Second act

The team is preparing for the penultimate game. Coach Van Buren is angry because his main service provider is missing. Nevertheless, he motivates his boys to the best of his ability. But all effort is in vain; the game is lost. For that, Joe Hardy is lucky. Gloria Thorpe cannot prove that this is the same as the suspended player. The proceedings initiated against him consequently end with an acquittal. However, Joe's joy is dampened when he learns that his "Senators" have lost the game. He finds consolation in his landlady. She shows him so much understanding that he suddenly wishes to be old Joe Boyd again. Via Lola, he sends a message to Mr. Applegate that he wants to be turned back before the game.

Lola is by no means happy with Joe's request. She fell madly in love with the player and hopes to spend at least one night of love with him. As soon as she has conveyed the news to her boss, she gives him a sleeping pill in his nightcap and thus ensures that he cannot be there in time on the day of the final game to carry out the metamorphosis into Joe Boyd on Joe Hardy. So he has no choice but to support his team on the field against the "Yankees". And lo and behold, the miracle happens: The "Senators" become champions for the first time.

Actually, Joe's soul should now belong to the devil. But because Joe's last outing didn't turn out to be right, he can take on his old shape again and be happy with his wife Meg.

Musical numbers

In the first act

  • Overture (orchestra)
  • Six Month Out Of Every Year - Football is up to my neck (Meg and Joe)
  • Goodbye, Old Girl - Farewell my darling (Joe)
  • Heart - courage (Van Buren and his team)
  • Shoeless Joe From Hannibal Mo - Barefoot Joe from Itzehoe (Gloria, Joe and the Senators)
  • A Man Doesn't Know - A man has to lose something first (Joe)
  • A little brains - intelligence, plus talent (Lola)
  • Whatever Lola Wants - Whatever Lola Wants (Lola)
  • Who's Got The Pain? - Where does it hurt? (Lola and the dancers)

In the second act

  • Between act music (orchestra)
  • The Game (Rocky, Smoky, Vernon, Henry and the rest of the team)
  • Near To You (Meg and Joe)
  • Those Were The Good Old Days (Mr. Applegate)
  • Two Lost Souls - You and I (Joe and Lola)
  • final

filming

In 1958 the film adaptation of the same name was released , directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen . Much of the original Broadway cast, including Tony Award- winning Gwen Verdon and Ray Walston , play their roles again in the film.

literature