Damn Yankees to Transfer?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 12:29pm

On Regis and Kelly today, Jane Krakowski said she and Sean Hayes may be doing Damn Yankees on Broadway "soon".

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 12:39pm

Wow. Didn't expect that.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 12:51pm

Interesting...maybe they'll fix the problems with the production then. It definitely had the potential to be great.

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 1:04pm

It was only done 13 years ago why would it be brought back again

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 1:06pm

I think it could definitely be fixed. I enjoyed it. The performances were great, and it did have potential.

And though it was 13 years ago, that was a new and revised book. This production used the original book and choreography, which was very interesting to see.

[barcelona20]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 1:13pm

It would be a big mistake for an unnecessary transfer.

Too much competition with classics like Guys & Dolls, South Pacific, West Side Story all playing at the same time.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 1:14pm

I think it would be exciting to have so many golden age classics playing at the same time.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 1:18pm

I'm inclined to agree that it wouldn't be a good idea at this time. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the show and saw the original, plus the revival in '94 and then again this summer. That being said, I wouldn't classify it as one of the "great" musicals -- an enjoyable evening at the theatre, yes, but not a "great" show that needs continued revival. Just my opinion.

[JeaniusIsMe]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 1:38pm

I agree it's probably not the right time for a revival, but this may help explain Krakowski's absence from the Guys and Dolls revival.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 3:14pm

She said that? That's interesting.
I was hoping she would make her Broadway return into a good production (ie the Donmar transfer of GUYS & DOLLS that never happened), not this. Sorry but as an enjoyable evening in the summer it was okay, but it is ultimately not a Broadway-worthy production. The book is simply awful and so thin.
Jane Krakowski was good but not great as Lola, Hayes played Jack as Applegate, and the diretion by Rando was shameful. Only Veanne Cox (giving the performance of the evening), Kathy FItzgerald, Randy Graff, and PJ Benjamin gave interesting performances.
I think the only way the show deserves a transfer is if they throw out the director, throw out the book, and really let the actors ACT.

[jewishboy]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 3:46pm

I really don't see how the book is awful. I think its one of the funniest scripts and there are some really great moments for Meg Boyd. However, the role of Joe (even in the original book) has always been problematic.

[Just_John]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 3:54pm

I asked my teacher while the show was running, who had a friend in the cast, if they were making a cd of the show with the City Center cast. He asked his friend and the response he got was it's probably transferring to Broadway and then most likely a cd would be made.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 3:57pm

I really don't get how Meg Boyd just accepts that Joe leaves and is not worried that he died, or mad that he left her or anything. She just willingly accepts he is gone and waits for him. It's so retro. I also don't think the character of Lola has much of an arc, nor do I think that she should come at the end to try to seduce Joe again. Nor do I get how Mr.Applegate has the power to do some things, but not the power to do other things. And if he really is the devil, why can't he just kill Joe and move on? And Joe Hardy is one of the dullest leads in a musical.
The only moments I enjoy are the touching moments between Meg and both Joes, the interactions between Lola and Applegate, and of course the hilarious moments provided by Cox and Fitzgerald (can't remember their characters' names).

[Paul W. Thompson]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 3:59pm

Isn't Cheyenne attached to "The Band Wagon" now? Am I remembering that correctly?

[Dollypop]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 4:01pm

Won't they have to re-cast Shoeless Joe? Cheyenne is set for another show, isn't he?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 4:02pm

THE BAND WAGON (or DANCING IN THE DARK) is being re-tooled as a vehicle for Cheyenne Jackson, yes, but I believe that's just in the workshop stages now, so if YANKEES transferred this season and Jackson wanted to, he'd probably be able to squeeze it in. That way we could finally get him and Krakowski together on Broadway.
Fitzgerald is already attached to 9 TO 5 though, and I doubt Veanne Cox would take a role so tiny on Broadway.
EDIT: The exciting part is that Megan Lawrence is doing HAIR, I believe, so we won't be subjected to her Gloria.

Updated On: 10/29/08 at 04:02 PM

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 4:13pm

Jackson doesn't sell tickets, so his lack of presence won't affect the show.

[Morgaine885]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 4:57pm

Wow, was this a rerun from the summer or was it brand-new? I didn't realize there was still a chance for that cast to revive Damn Yankees on Broadway.

[Broadway Baby 2]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 6:21pm

I have a friend that was in the City Center production. Powers that be are indeed trying to find funding to get it on Broadway in February.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 6:36pm

I'm pretty sure it was a live REGIS & KELLY, I suppose Krakowski was there to promote 30 ROCK since the new season premieres tomorrow.

[Kelly2]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 7:10pm

Yes!!!! :)

[Christoph]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 8:08pm

Hmmmm...I would much rather they revive No No Nanette if they go by any of the recent Encores shows. Damn Yankees was nice and I enjoyed the cast, but it desperately needed some of the updating that the revival incorporated. I usually don't care for Sean Hayes, but I rather enjoyed him as Applegate. I also thought both Cheyenne Jackson and Randy Graff were quite good. I love Jane Krakowski, but if the choreography she did in Whatever Lola Wants was indeed the original choreography, then it was decidedly underwhelming (some shimmies and a few butt shakes was really all Gwen Verdon did in the original?). I hope it was just scaled down for Encores, otherwise I much preferred the choreography given to Bebe Neuwirth in the last revival. As charming as Jane was, I also thought she was not shown at her best in the "Whose Got the Pain" number opposite a much more adept John Selya.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 8:33pm

MamasDoin'Fine,

I understand it was 13 years ago, but did we really need another revial of Gypsy?

I'm not saying I hate the idea of bring them back because Gypsy is one of my all time favorite shows, and to get to see Patti would be amazing. And although Guys and Dolls was done a few years before DY, it gets done every decade.

Although I must disagree with Tommy Tune who said "We shouldn't fill up theatres will revivals, because there needs to be space for new things to grow". In defense, Elaine Stritch said that "We need revivals because it lets young people see a show like 'Guys and Dolls'", which in her opinion, is "one of the best shows ever written."

BTW Tommy Tune did produced a major revival of Grease in 1994, IRONIC???

Just pointing some stuff out.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 8:40pm

I would much rather they revive No No Nanette if they go by any of the recent Encores shows


Me too.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 10/29/08 at 8:41pm