Jaystarr's 10/10 Report on DAMN YANKEES.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 7/28/08 at 9:47am

E2
Season 2

Damn Yankees
Encore Series (Summer Production)
City Center
7/26 2 pm matinee
2 hours and 30 minutes
Ticket Price : $25.00

with Chris1973 & Chau.


INTRO:

We promised Chau, (Chris friend at work) that we would bring her to NYC every season like Fall, Winter...etc... She never goes out a lot, ever since she moved from Vietnam in 1980, she never really had a chance to travel, so now that her kid is in college now. We told her that we bring her to New York City as much as possible. She had seen shows with us in the past ( The Ritz~her 1st Broadway show and Mamma Mia - all from Season 1) She loves Mamma Mia a lot, and we actually saw the movie version with her too! She loves New York so much..she said she never seen soo many tall buildings in her life and too many things to do. She is a very easy to tag-along with day trips.

So last Saturday we decided to bring her again to see a Damn Yankees with us. I actually never had a chance to see the 1994 Revival of Damn Yankees with Bebe Neuwirth, so its a good chance for me to catch the show before it close on July 26.

Chris & I are very familiar with the score. We played the OBCR a million times and we both love WILL & GRACE on NBC, that's why we just can't miss this show. We actually saw almost everyone in the cast on Broadway except Debra Messing and specially we are both very fond of Jack's character (Sean Hayes) in Will & Grace


Things I LIKE about the show (out of 10)

1. Choreography by Bob Fosse (as recreated by Mary MacLeod) : It really was a TREAT to see the original Bob Fosse choreography onstage, considering this is my 1st time to see DAMN YANKEES ~well sort of on Broadway-but technically its not! (well I mean, FULL PRODUCTION in NYC) I saw the 1958 movie version and I love watching Fosse's choreography over and over~rewinding my VCR so many times. My favorites are the Fosse' stylized hand movements (as in Whatever Lola Wants) the funny strut moves in Shoeless Joe and his signature moves such as the use of inward knees, rounded shoulders and body isolations in "Who's Got The Pain". Considering this is Fosse's second work on Broadway (1st is Pajama Game) his style is very distinct already! I enjoyed the production primarily bec. of the dance recreation.

2. The Music & Lyrics by Richard Adler & Jerry Ross -Oh, its just one of my favorite 50's musical. Who does not know..."Heart", "Whatever Lola Wants" and "A Little Brains, A Little Talent"?I think almost every Broadway enthusiast is familar with the score. I enjoyed the curtain call- when they all came out to sing "Heart" ~the audience sang-along with the cast. I did too!

3. Jane Krakowski- I thought she was born to play Lola after I saw the show. I was on the fence after I read some of the early reviews about her~about NOT having the right body to execute Bob Fosse' style. Honestly, I was way too far.. that I did not noticed the minor details of her executions. I thought she dance pretty well! I can't really tell the difference from where I was sitting. One thing that really strikes me is she has a beautiful and powerful voice~and that alone made me like her! Acting wise- I thought she was one of the funniest in the show.

4. Sean Hayes as Jack MacFarland playing Mr. Applegate- YES! I totally agree, Sean Hayes IS Jack MacFraland, his character from Will & Grace. I am saying this in a good way! I am a fan of the TV show..and I must say that I enjoyed watching him as Jack specially in Those Were The Good Old Days' number where he was playing the piano left without bowing and came back on his big ENCORE with a violin, but decided to throw it out and sing... Its soo JACK MaCFARLAND SHOW 2001 (his imaginary act on Will & Grace) Everyone in the audience was buying his Jack MacFarland playing Mr. Applegate~he got the most laugh!

I can see why some poster dont like his take on Applegate. I personally find it funny and it did not bother me at all. The material is a bit outdated and his Jack playing Mr. Applegate really adds FLAVOR to the material. Specially the part after the "Whatever Lola Wants" number in which he was making fun of Lola by imitating her moves~its was soo Jack and everyone was laughing so hard! which I believe its in the original material, its just the way he delivered it.. like his line in the show.. JUST JACK! 2001!

-I have noticed that in the beginning he was not jack, but after 20 mins in the show.. he became his character already in WILL & GRACE, from his voice & mannerism~which did not bother me at all. I thought he was FUNNY!

5. Cheyenne Jackson- If Jane was born to play Lola. Cheyenne was born to play Joe Hardy. I thought he was perfect for the role! It was really nice to hear him sing, "A Man Doesn't Know"~the one thing about him is he got a BEAUTIFUL VOICE! ~so he can basically sing anything and will still STOOD UP I thought he has a very good chemistry with Jane & Randy Graff.

-I actually fantasize of seeing him & Jane star in XANADU (like in London) I was glad that I finally saw them together in a musical!

-I also noticed that he's got a lot of female fans ( I thought it was only gay! ...lol!) bec. everytime he sings or came out at the curtain call~all the females are yelling!

6. The Ensemble : special mention to John Selya, Veanne Cox & Michael Mulheren.

-I thought John Selya was the stand-out as a dancer. He perfectly excecute Fosse' style. I can see it from my seat claerly~ its just the way he moves his shoulder, he way he walks...its so Bob Fosse! I love his number with Jane_ I thought they did a good job together, but sometimes I can see Jane missing a move or two (like forgetting to raise her hat, while Jon raised his..don't know if that's a part of the choreography, but it seems awkward sometimes, but overall.. I love the number~its also a HARD number to dance with all the stylized & acrobatic moves in style of Fosse~ so I am not going to be itsy-picky with Jane, besides given the small time to master Fosse is a VERY HARD TASK!

-I thought Michael Mulheren has a beautiful voice specially his part in "Heart" I thought he even sound better than the OBCR recording!

7. The Orchestra : As you well know, its a complete orchestra 38 piece (?)~ not really sure of the exact number- but it sounded great! As they say, you go see an ENCORE show bec. of the Orchestra. Though I find the Overture a bit weird, since Ive listened to the OBCR recording a million times and I think its was not included! The Orchestra was placed on the platform on the stage (see production photos below) to make it look like baseball spectators on the bleachers.


Things I DID NOT LIKE about the show experience (out of 10)

1. The Seats : I try not to include external factor. UNFORTUNATELY not this one.. We sat on Rear Mezz Center Row K~in which others will say its a perfect seat (regularly $50.00 on Regular Encore show, since they close the Balcony for this show) I will say.. that its a TORTURE. Yes..there are NO bars to block my view, but somehow the heads of the people(specially if they are TALL) infront of me is blocking the view~I can barely see the actors sometime, if I lean forward, the person behind me will see my head. I can say now.. I sat on BALCONY too.. that I think there's no DECENT seats at City Center except the Orchestra~I think. During the intermission, I went down to see the view- it was fine, but we couldn't move! So we sat back on the REAR MEZZANINE again... the WORST PART is when someone (audience infront of us-mostly FRONT MEZZ) stood up during the middle of the show to go out-all you see is their heads.. It's very distracting! I counted it-it happened 9 times during the entire show...an audience will stand up and exit to the side doors..all you see is them standing and exiting! After the show I had a STIFF NECK and a splitting head-ache!!! The SEATS are REALLY BAD!! its the way the theater was built- it was steep that your view will be like this...

My Actual View:
(top part was cut due to the steepness of the theater-all I saw was the RED Border of the stage)

(bottom part was people's head-if there is a vacant seat infront of you-you will see a full view!)

as Opposed to this...


IN SUMMARY:

I was glad I saw the show before it closed. I love the Score, Fosse recreated choreography, big fan of Sean Hayes' Jack Character in WILL & GRACE, I like Cheyenne and Jane..so why not? I had a great time seeing the show, but not sitting on City Center's MEZZANINE- Well, we only paid $25.00 and they say that 'You Get what you paid for" but I dont think I deserve to get a stiff neck! I guess, if you really want to have a great time on City Center, you really have to be willing to shell out $115 for ORCHESTRA seat.

Score : 7/1- I LIKE IT!





Now...Let's add the Damn Yankees' button to the 10/10 Cork Board!




City Center












THE MERCHANDISE




Production Photos
(from Playbill)
https://www.playbill.com/news/article/119306.html

Cheyenne & Jane in "Whatever Lola Wants"


Jimmy, Robert, Jimmy and Michael Mulheren in "Heart"


Sean Hayes & Jane Krakowski in "A Little Brains, A Little Talent"


Meg Lawrence & the Cast in "Shoeless Joe"


The Cast in Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo.


The Playbill















Stage Door Photos

DIRECTIONS: The Stage door is at the back of the theater on 56th St-So you need to make a block -As you exit the main lobby-turn LEFT immediately - go towards 6th Avenue then turn LEFT on 6th Avenue (towards 56th St) then turn Left Again on 56 St...So its 3 LEFTS.


My Stage Door Experience:

As my rule of thumb- I only stage door for 30 minutes. I did not see Cheyenne & Sean bec. I left after 30 minutes (from my Xanadu experience~Cheyenne usually goes out right away within 30 minutes, so I guess he probably DID NOT go out last Saturday and I know that Sean rarely goes out on matinees~so I was not really expecting to see him. Jane came out right away. She was EXTREMELY nice to everyone. There's an old lady ~I think I heard her say that she is 80 something yrs old and saw the original Damn Yankees with Gwen Verdon in 1955, when someone mentioned that to Jane- she was very accomodating to her, posed with her in a photo and talked to her (see photo below) I thought that was VERY NICE of her, to take some time and talk to the old lady! There were probably 50-60 people at the stage door.

Chau & Chris at City Center Stage Door:


Veanne Cox


with John Selya


Michael Mulheren


with Michael Mulheren


Jane Krakowski








with Jane Krakowski



My Autographed Playbill






Updated On: 7/29/08 at 09:47 AM

[Dolly_Levi]

Posted: 7/28/08 at 10:05am

Lord, PJ Benjamin needs to update his headshot!

*LOL*

[supportivemom]

Posted: 7/28/08 at 10:33am

Thanks Jay- feel like I was right there with you! My daughter just finished Damn Yankees at an all high-school production. She got to play Mrs. Welch! It was fantastic!

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 7/28/08 at 11:40am

Thanks, J for taking the time to post thorough reviews of the shows you see!

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 7/28/08 at 11:42am

Awesome review, as usual.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/28/08 at 12:14pm

Thanks Jay. I am jealous that you got a pic with Jane!!!

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/28/08 at 12:16pm

Great pictures!

[Bwayfan4]

Posted: 7/28/08 at 12:38pm

It's about time you posted another 10/10 report! :)

By the way...love the picture of you and Jane! It's too bad you didn't see Sean ("Just Jack", whom I love!) or Cheyenne!

[GottaHaveAGimmick]

Posted: 7/28/08 at 12:55pm

Thanks, Jay, for your detailed review. I went this past Saturday night, and it brought back many memories. Sorry about the seating for you.
I have never seen the show, except for a few clips of songs here and there. It really showed how far musicals have come since 1955. Songs like "Who's Got the Pain" are entertaining but do nothing to advance the story or character development. Shows written later (like "West Side Story" and "Oklahoma") advanced the musical numbers to be more integral to the story.
It was fun to see Sean Hayes. I hope he returns to Broadway in a comedy. To me, Jane was her usual self (vampy, sexy, teasing female role). I mostly enjoyed seeing Cheyenne in a style so different than "Xanadu." This show let him belt out love songs and ballads with that orchestra in a classic musical style. I was also surprised at his dancing in "Two Lost Souls."
Everyone looked like they were having fun......and so was I.

[Mamie]

Posted: 7/28/08 at 1:21pm

Thanks for the great revue Jay. I also saw the show on 7/19 - but in the evening. I loved it but I had the same problem you did with the seats. I was seated in the grant tier (first mezz), 2nd row, dead center. It should have been a fantastic seat but the woman in front of me was constantly leaning forward. When she did, half the stage was blocked from my view. I tried real hard NOT to look over her because I knew it would just block the view of the people behind me. That whole mezz/balcony area needs to be rebuilt!

[The Bearded Lady]

Posted: 7/28/08 at 1:48pm

Another great report from one of the best poster here! Thanks.
Updated On: 7/28/08 at 01:48 PM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 7/28/08 at 2:17pm

Jay! Awesome report. I honestly wish I could have loved it as much as you did. I enjoyed it overall, but was expecting so much better.
I wonder if Jane forgetting to raise her hat is intentional or if she just forgets...she forgot to do it when I saw it a couple weeks ago and I wondered exactly the same thing since Selya did raise it.
I'm so jealous of your picture with Jane Krakowski, it looks great. The night I saw it, the guy who took the picture didn't realize he pressed the zoom so the picture came out too close and blurry

[jaystarr]

Posted: 7/28/08 at 2:34pm

Ray- I know what your saying, when you stage dooring- you only have the one chance for a photo ops (one shot) ~sometimes its hard to get it right!

I also did some research..here's Bob Fosse & Gwen Verdon "Who's Got The Pain" number: remember they did the same choreography! most of the time they both raise their hats at the same time, no instance where HE lift it all by himself! except when they are on each other's back~but that was not the part.
http://www.vtap.com/video/Who%2527S+Got+The+Pain/CL0092868924_6296c3e24_Q0wwMDE3NDQ3NTAw

It's exactky 1:03 part when Jane forgets to raise her hat..she must have a mind block! lol ...btw- Selya & Krakowsi are wearing the same yellow outfit in Encores' DAMN YANKEES.

J*

Updated On: 7/28/08 at 02:34 PM

[Glory]

Posted: 7/28/08 at 3:13pm

i'm glad you liked it jay!! I saw it this past saturday matinee and thought it was really well done. I'm wearing my shirt right now haha I loved the whole Baseball shirt look so I needed one. I didn't stage door, but I really loved this show. I was in it and it has a place in my heart :)

[NYCboy2]

Posted: 7/28/08 at 4:12pm

Great review! Nice to hear from you again, jay!

[pharmer2000]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 4:05am

Great review! I was there that day also and made it into your stage door pics, haha, awesome!

[Scripps2]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 5:48am

You jammy sod! That is one brilliant photograph of you with Jane K. Thank you for posting.

[LindaTNo1]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 12:57pm

The pictures are fabulous and the report is simply the best. Very detailed with good insight.

Sean Hayes is so much more than his character on Will and Grace. His role in The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman is evidence that he is perfectly capable and able to perform other characters. He has a couple of projects due out in the fall (film) and his production company has things in development too. He gave his all to his character in Damn Yankees and so I am so happy for the cast that gave Encores, Summer series a great show. I am jealous that I could not attend DY. Thanks for your great thread on this board!


What the world needs now is love, sweet love.................

[musicalmaster703]

Posted: 7/31/08 at 11:03pm

great review and I look forward to your Spamalot review in a few days.