Game On
The Musical Theatre Guild is warming up to pitch the baseball classic "Damn Yankees" opening July 16 at the Succop Theatre at Butler County Community College.
The show takes a swing at the players and passion that surround baseball and winning games. The show originally opened on Broadway in 1955.
It is the tale of Joe Boyd, a typical middle-aged man who is addicted to baseball.
Tired of enduring consistent losses every baseball season between his team, the Washington Senators, and the Yankees, Joe sells his soul. The pact he makes with the Devil, Mr. Applegate, allows him to turn into the slugger, Joe Hardy.
Hardy becomes the savior of the Washington Senators and a star in the Major Leagues.
In the bullpen as the character Lola is Beth Ackelson of Center Township who will be reprising her role from the 2000 production.
Ackelson recently appeared as Mrs. Potts in "Beauty and the Beast" with the Pittsburgh Musical Theatre Guild.
"Lola is a fun character to play because she is a bad girl in the beginning, but she has a change of heart and ends up trying to do the right thing," she said.
"I like to think I bring a lot of energy and zest to the part of Lola," she added.
Ackelson is thankful the role is a reprisal since her vacation fell in the middle of rehearsal time.
"The audience should be prepared for a strong cast all around," said Ackelson, but she has her favorite parts of the show.
"My favorite scene is the locker room scene where I sing 'Whatever Lola Wants' because I get to be a little bit naughty," she said.
Making his MTG debut is rookie Brian Mueller of Butler Township who plays the young baseball phenom Joe Hardy.
Mueller specifically auditioned for this role. "The reason I chose to audition for this show is because Joe's songs are well-suited for someone with my vocal range," he said.
He believes the show will be a big crowd pleaser.
"The audience should be prepared for a quality musical that celebrates all things Americans hold most dear: life, love and, of course, baseball," he said.
Mueller is partial to the team scenes. "My favorite scenes are the ones featuring the team singing and dancing. First, because they look and sound great, and second, because I'm not in them," he added.
Show standards from this production include "Heart," "Whatever Lola Wants" and show opener "Six Months Out of Every Year."
"Damn Yankees" is presented by Butler Musical Theatre Guild in collaboration with BC3. The show is under the direction of Larry Stock, with musical direction by Karen O'Donnell and choreography by Buddy Thompson.
In a twist in which baseball meets the theater, the cast of "Damn Yankees" will be featured at the Butler BlueSox game on Friday at Pullman Park, where they will perform songs from the show.
<B>WHO: </B>Musical Theatre Guild in collaboration with Butler County Community College's Cultural Center and Succop Theater<B>WHAT: </B>"Damn Yankees"<B>WHEN: </B>8 p.m. July 16 and 17 and 3 p.m. July 18<B>WHERE: </B>Succop Theater at Butler County Community College<B>TICKETS: </B>$15 for adults and $12 for students. Available at May's Music Shoppe, 247 E. Jefferson St., Butler, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Tickets also available online at www.bc3.edu.<B>INFORMATION: </B>724-287-8243
