Damn Yankees Revival vs. Original

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 7:38am

So I am playing Joe Boyd this summer in a production of Damn Yankees. We are using the original material. I was wondering what are the major differences between the two. There seem to be several. Thanks!

[PianoMan2]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 10:10am

Musically, almost all of the arrangements have been updated in the revised version. This includes some longer dance sections, as well as a lot of new orchestrations.

The plot is the same in both, with some rewrites.

Congrats on the show!

[Byron Abens]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 10:25am

The revival had some major re-writes to the book, even eliminating the character of Doris.

"Six Months Out of Every Year" got a major overhaul in terms of its arrangement.

As previously mentioned many of the other songs went through major re-arrangements with extended dance sequences.

Intermission was moved so that Act I ended after a short little scene between Applegate and Lola after "Whatever Lola Wants." "Who's Got the Pain" became the Act II opener.

The Courtroom scene was entirely brand new, leading into an entirely new scene in Limbo, which in turn led into Applegate and Lola singing "Two Lost Souls" which was originally a song between Lola and Joe Hardy.

The final ball game is different, as Joe Hardy is transformed back into Joe Boyd while batting, as opposed to while playing in the field. He now makes the game winning RBI/homerun hit (can't remember which) instead of catching a fly to make the winning final out.

These are all just things I can remember off of the top of my head. If I remember correctly a lot of purists hated the amount of "doctoring" that had gone into that revival. Since seeing the revival was my first exposure to the show, and also the second show I had seen on Broadway (I saw Beauty and the Beast the previous night), I had a hard time warming up to the original material when we did it in my high school the following spring.

[PianoMan2]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 10:36am

Byron - that is very interesting.

I did the production in a High School, and apparently it was a combo of both of the shows....sigh....I didn't know there were as many changes as you listed! I just knew that I enjoyed the revival score much more, but (at the time) could never get a score!

I will need to take a look at the archival version they did compared to the original script sometime, and see what the hell the director did to it!

[Tom's Cat]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 10:55am

I'm probably one of the few who felt the changes incorporated in the '96 revival were an improvement over the original. I know the purists here would be horrified but I just felt that it helped a lot to make the show more appealing to the modern (that is, the '96) audiences. The recent re-revival at City Center felt soooo sloooow and dated in comparison. I remember being disappointed when there was no Blooper Ballet at the beginning and "You've Gotta Have Heart" was sung by only 3 of the Senators. It almost felt like a high school version instead. (Of course I also LOVED Jerry Lewis as the Devil, so what do I know?)

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 11:00am

I think they liscence both, because I know several regional theatres have done the revisions.

Honestly, I liked "Two Lost Souls" being assigned to Lola and Applegate, but that may just be my Bebe/Victor love shining through.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 11:07am

I agree that the changes to the revival were an improvement. "Six Months Out of Every Year" is a lot more exciting as an opening number with the new arrangements, especially the more upbeat beginning. "Shoeless Joe From Hannibal, MO" also had a different arrangement which again made it a bigger showstopper (it also helps to have the wonderful belter Vicki Lewis in the cast recording as opposed to the awful, poorly-sung performance Megan Lawrence gave at City Center).
I do think that "Two Lost Souls" makes more sense as sung by Lola and Joe rather than the Devil and Lola (though I adore Bebe and Victor's version too, husk! ). But I do get the idea of giving the Devil an extra song since it is the main role.

[Jon]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 11:26am

Another change is that "Who's Got the Pain" was done by Lola and all the men (ball players) instead of just Lola and one dancer.

A change I DIDN'T like was that in the revival, Applegate did not turn Lola back into an old hag at the end.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 12:52pm

The changes made for the 1994 production were for the most part well thought out and it did seem to make the show tighter and faster. One change I really liked was making "Near to you" into a trio between Meg, Old Joe and Joe Hardy. One change I did NOT like (and found pointless) was reassigning "Two Lost Souls" to Lola and Applegate. (It is Joe and Lola who sold their souls!) Of course it was done to give Victor Garber more to sing but it was an unsuccessful answer.

The scenic design for the revision allowed for seamless transitions and turned the courtroom sequence into a montage. In the traditional script they have full set scenes alternating with crossovers done "in one." (Strange since this was 6 years after SOUTH PACIFIC had made this style unnecessary.)

The original version works fine but today's audiences might find it plodding. The revised version gave it more kick but overall did not offer any great improvement.

If you compare the music and lyrics as heard on the 1955 OCR and the 1994 OCR you will note that the music and lyrics are essentially the same. Beware that much of the dialogue on the 1994 recording was fabricated for the album and is not from the revival script.

[Tom's Cat]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 1:39pm

"One change I really liked was making "Near to you" into a trio between Meg, Old Joe and Joe Hardy."

OMG - you're so right. I'd forgotten about this. I was telling someone about it after they'd seen it for the first time at City Center. Just telling them about it made them regret not seeing it. It was absolutely beautiful and a little haunting.

[Byron Abens]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 3:01pm

Glad to see that I'm not alone in preferring the changes made for the '94 revival. I saw it with the original cast, and then again a couple years later when Jerry Lewis was doing the tour, who I actually enjoyed. He was smug, hammy, and over the top, which is everything Applegate should be.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/30/09 at 4:22pm

I really like most of the changes and I hate that MTI actually doesn't seem to offer the revival script and score. Unless it's available upon request and just not listed on their site. My favorite change is definitly "Two Lost Souls" sung by Applegate and Lola. It's a shame MTI doesn't offer it.

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 5/1/09 at 1:47am

Thanks guys that helps fill in the holes from the cast recordings and the script I have right now. Wish me luck!

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 5/1/09 at 1:47am

Thanks guys that helps fill in the holes from the cast recordings and the script I have right now. Wish me luck!

[Tom's Cat]

Posted: 5/1/09 at 9:26am

Keeping fingers and toes crossed for you!

btw - Arena Stage in DC did the show a couple of years ago (with Brad Oscar as Applegate). It was the revised version and it was fabulous.

Updated On: 5/1/09 at 09:26 AM