by Frank O’Donnell
Joe Boyd is your typical Washington Senators fan. He wishes his bottom-dwelling team could do better. What he’d really like is for his team to “lick those Yankees just once!”
Those damn Yankees are dream-crushers, but Joe knows a long-ball hitter could make all the difference. He’s even willing to make a deal with the devil to make it happen. It’s a careful-what-you-wish-for scenario, as Applegate (aka, the devil) shows up and offers Joe the “chance to be who you’ve wanted to be all your life.”
With a snap of his fingers, Applegate creates Joe Hardy out of Joe Boyd, and sets him on the path to help turn the Senators’ season around.
Welcome to “Damn Yankees,” the first summer-season offering at Ocean State Theatre Company in Warwick. A staple of musical theater since its Broadway debut, the show feature some very familiar songs – “Heart,” “Two Lost Souls” and “Whatever Lola Wants” among them.
Under Amiee Turner’s direction, the OSTC version has turned into a big dance show – well, bigger than I remember seeing in other productions.
From the ensemble baseball team dancing around a no-nonsense reporter in “Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, MO” to a pretty elaborate “Two Lost Souls” staged in a supper club, there’s an electric energy in this show that’s contagious. And “Who’s Got the Pain,” the number that closes out the first act, will simply wow you.
Casting the right people makes all the difference, and Turner has struck gold with Lauren Gemelli as Lola. I have to admit a personal bias, having worked with Gemelli in “Guys & Dolls” two summers ago, but she is perfect for the role. She’s the temptress, sent by Applegate (aka, the devil) to distract Joe Hardy from his goal, allowing the devil to win Joe’s soul.
Gemelli is sultry, sexy and just a touch vulnerable as the former “ugliest woman in Providence, Rhode Island” whose own deal with the devil turned her into his henchwoman. And her dancing is superb. You simply can’t stop watching her.
Matt Gibson is wonderful as Joe Hardy. The moment he steps out of Joe Boyd’s house, there’s a sense of magic to the show. He’s a young man, but he plays the older soul perfectly, allowing for some very touching and very believable moments with Sally Ann Swarm who plays Meg Boyd.
“Damn Yankees” is perfectly designed for some summer fun. You’ll sing along, and probably tap along too.
“Damn Yankees” runs through July 24 at Ocean State Theatre Company on Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick. For tickets and information, call the box office at 401.921.6800, or visit www.oceanstatetheatre.org.
