Damn Yankees Review

The members of the Casady theatre have outdone themselves again, and this time it was in an exciting rendition of the Broadway classic of Damn Yankees. The musical follows the life of a man named Joe Boyd who loves baseball and is a huge fan of the Washington Senators, who have a long losing streak. Joe makes a deal with the devil and turns into a young baseball player. The duration of the musical is a battle between the love of the game and the love he has for his wife. The actors in the musical did it justice and the entire audience loved it. This musical was the final production done this year, and it made the large group of seniors’ performances stronger than ever. Each of the members of the cast deserve recognition for their phenomenal performances. The ensemble of baseball players did excellent work entertaining the crowd and by making the crowd laugh. Josh Britt, ‘17, and Jackson Davis, ‘18, had great energy on stage and carried that into their solos in Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo and The Game. Turner Waddell, ‘17, dominated the part of Mr. Applegate, the devil that Joe sells his soul to, and played the part with perfect mystique and humor. Kailee Nguyen, ‘19, who played the part of Lola, Mr. Applegate’s helper, portrayed the layers within a character and the heart of friendship in the matter. Livy Simms, ‘17, played the part of a journalist covering athletics in the ‘60s, and did it with true confidence and strength. Jake Uhland,’17, did an excellent job playing two parts, and showed true heart in his performance. Paris Corbett, ‘17, won the audience’s love with a beautiful take on Elizabeth Hardy, who deals with the absence of her husband throughout the musical. Last but not least, Dalton Bishop, ‘17, brought the house down with incredible acting and singing as the transformed Joe as an incredible baseball player who saves the Senators. Although the entire cast isn’t named, each and everyone of them contributed to the show. Another excellent part of the show was the orchestra’s performance. They hit every musical number perfectly, and it felt like listening to professional music. The entire musical was superb, and that couldn’t have been done without the Casady faculty involved. Andi Dema has completely transformed the theatrical arts at the school and has made each play or musical an amazing piece of work. Kourtney McQuade created a beautiful set and made the production move smoothly. Their leadership contributed to the excellence of the performance.Overall, Damn Yankees was a hit. The entire musical was executed perfectly. The night was bittersweet, though, seeing it was the last performance in Casady theatre for the group of seniors. It will be exciting to see where they go in the arts in the future, but until then the world will just have to be thankful for such an incredible last performance.