TLC Musical, New Adaptations of DAMN YANKEES and PAL JOEY Will Play Arena Stage- Page 3

[noradesmond]

Posted: 8/2/25 at 5:27pm

I saw it in the round in Houston in the late 60s. Rita Moreno was Lola, Gary Collins was Joe Hardy and Jonathan Harris was Mr Applegate. They changed it to Damn Cardinals with some minor lyric changes. I was just a kid and didn’t know much about theater yet but loved it. 

[Kad]

Posted: 8/3/25 at 10:51am

Updating this to the 00s feels like a really risky choice. I just don't know how you bring a score like this into that era, musically. 

[Crusty Bagel]

Posted: 8/3/25 at 11:06am

I guess Robyn Hurder is sad she didn’t get cast.  She always said Lola was a dream role for her. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/3/25 at 1:07pm

Kad said: "Updating this to the 00s feels like a really risky choice. I just don't know how you bring a score like this into that era, musically."

Especially since this revival's music team is known for a "classic" Broadway sound. David Chase ("score supervisor"), Greg Anthony Rassen (music supervisor and arranger), Doug Besterman (orchestrator), and Adam Rothenberg (music director).

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 8/3/25 at 10:22pm

Oof…didn’t realize that book change. This one seems DOA already. 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 8/3/25 at 10:35pm

Crusty Bagel said: "I guess Robyn Hurder is sad she didn’t get cast. She always said Lola was a dream role for her."

You know what the optics would be on THAT one! 

[Crusty Bagel]

Posted: 8/3/25 at 10:42pm

Yea can’t have too many white people these days.  Enough with the woke casting.  But if this production is a disaster, it might be better for Robyn in the end. I’d love to see Josh Bergasse do a classic production of Damn Yankees with Robyn.  I’m not convinced with the Rob McClure casting in this role either.  And I say that as a fan of his 

[darquegk]

Posted: 8/3/25 at 10:46pm

Even with the initial joke/implication that the "exotic" Lola is really just a white New York Jewish-American everywoman, there's not much of a way to cast that role as it's currently written without either losing the optics or losing the joke.

There's a fair amount of mostly-forgotten east side meets west side humor in the show as it is; even the language joke of "Who's got the pain when they do the mambo" blends a common New York Jewish-ism "to have the pain" with the notion of the very foreign, very gentile and very non-uptight Latin dance craze. 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 8/3/25 at 11:01pm

Crusty Bagel said: "Yea can’t have too many white people these days. Enough with the woke casting. But if this production is a disaster, it might be better forRobyn in the end. I’d love to see Josh Bergasse do a classic production of Damn Yankees with Robyn. I’m not convinced with the Rob McClure casting in this role either. And I say that as a fan of his"

And the only time this many book writers made anything work was the Lincoln Center Anything Goes, which was a once in a lifetime success story. All other times, the “too many cooks” rule can be retrospectively applied. 

Agreed about Rob, he’s pretty wrong for it, plus he’s absolutely destroyed his voice over the last few years. Who wants an Applegate who makes your cringe when you should be leaning in closer, seduced? The role needs a Chris Sieber. I’m sure they offered it to him but he’s wise enough to stay away from disasters. Doug Sills is another one. 

Updated On: 8/3/25 at 11:01 PM