By Jennifer Mustoe
Having never been to the Hopebox Theater in Kaysville, I figured it was about time to head up there (from Spanish Fork) to see one of my favorite shows, Damn Yankees. I’ve only seen the movie, so was intrigued to see it onstage.
The Hopebox is a sweet little theater with a big heart and a big message. For every production, it ‘adopts’ a family that struggles with cancer. With Damn Yankees, the Peterson family is the recipients of all the donations the Hopebox collects and after the show, I saw many people putting cash and checks in a box for this deserving family.
Damn Yankees is basically about Joe Boyd (Donald Eisenbarth), an older real estate agent who’s nuts for the Washington Senators, who, if you don’t know, are a baseball team. Damn Yankees is about baseball, but you don’t have to love the sport to follow the show and enjoy it. But it is fun if you like baseball. Joe is married to Meg, played winningly by Janine Creager. Creager and D Eisenbarth are a sweet couple who look like they fit. Their squabbles about him being glued to the TV can only be understood by anyone in the audience whose spouse is either a sports fan or a gamer.
Joe the older is so crazy to beat the Yankees that he makes a deal with Mr. Applegate, aka the devil, played so convincingly by Bradley Hatch. Hatch is hilarious and his confidence onstage is very delightful. His is a character we love to hate–makes our skin crawl but we can’t look away. Applegate does the deal, but foolishly gives Boyd an escape clause. Suddenly Joe Boyd becomes Joe Hardy (Cody Eisenbarth), who can really play ball. I mean, REALLY. He’s a phenomenon, a sensation, and soon, the press is hounding him for info about where he came from. (Some things never change.) Joe the younger loves playing ball, for a while, but misses his wife and his life. C Eisenbarth is nice in this role, and when he is with the baseball team, these are his best scenes, filled with vibrancy and fun.
His wife is certain he’ll come back, but her friends, Doris (Wendy Greenman) and Sister (Kathi Luke) are skeptical. These two, Greenman and Luke, are hilarious and own every scene they are in. Wonderful! And in fact, the ensemble members, the baseball team, are the best part of the show. These men are so tight and their timing is great. Their ensemble numbers are so much fun. Music Director Alexandra Camastro gets these guys singing and the wildly fantastic Choreographer Bailee DeYoung gets these dudes, and the rest of the cast, dancing like they all have been taking dance lessons all their lives. I’ve seen a lot of community theater productions and been in quite a few, and I’ve never seen such accomplished dance numbers from amateur dancers. Kudos to DeYoung.
And speaking of dancing, Dede Williams plays the vamp Lola who works with Applegate and she is superb. She knows her stuff and it is so great to watch her. She is supposed to be sexy and then sweet and Williams nails both of those very well.
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The set, by Director Kyle Esposito, is very effective for the small space. A few lockers, a few benches, a desk, an ironing board, it all works and when the cast takes the pieces off, there is voice over that sounds like an announcer is announcing a baseball game. Genius. In talking with Esposito after the show, he said he really focused on timing and it shows. The show is very tight and enjoyable, though it does run a good two hours.
The standouts in the production team are Costumer Jeffrey Black, who gives the ball players and Lola amazing costumes. And Lighting Designer Derek Raynor and Lightboard Operator Kira Carey knock it out of the park for this show. (Did you see what I just did there?)
This show, as I said, was a little long for super young kids, and there are a few sexy bits, mostly innuendo, and there is the word “Damn” in the title. But for kids who love baseball and/or musicals, this should be a show they really don’t miss. With Hopebox’s wonderful mission and a fun show like this, we’ve got ourselves a home run.
Hopebox Theater presents Damn Yankees, Book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, Music and Lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, Dedicated to the Peterson Family
Hopebox Theater, 1700 S. Frontage Rd., Kaysville, UT 84037
Contact: 801-451-5259 hopeboxtheatre@gmail.com
Tickets: $10-15
April 6-21 Mon, Friday-Saturday 7:30 PM
Hopebox Theater Facebook Page
Damn Yankees Facebook Event
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