‘Damn Yankees’ runnin’ amok at CSTOCK

“Those newspaper guys, they don’t know what it’s like to have their hearts in a baseball club,” Washington Senators owner Mr. Welch decries.

Newspaperman or not, one can see firsthand what it may be like, or more precisely what it might be like if you sold your soul to improve your favorite team as the Central Stage Theatre of County Kitsap takes the fabled Faust out to the ball game in its season opener “Damn Yankees.”

Or perhaps “’Darn’ Yankees” might’ve been the more suitable title for a show at the family-friendly, family-oriented Silverdale theater.

Whatever you call it, its a damn fine show.

The 1950s era “Damn Yankees” opened Sept. 14 and will run through Oct. 7 with curtains at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 6 p.m. Sunday. For ticket reservations, call (360) 692-9940.

It all revolves around the last-place Senators and life-long fan Joe Boyd (played by Paul Adkins), a middle-aged, overweight man who pays more attention to baseball than his wife six months out of the year. Boyd is convinced that all his team needs to get out of the cellar is “one good slugger.”

Disheartened and dumbfounded after the Senators lose to “those damn Yankees,” the best team in the league, he ventures outside for some fresh air and tells the night sky that he’d sell his soul for one good slugger ...

And wouldn’t you know, as soon as he makes a crazy claim like that the devil shows up in a three-piece suit with his hair slicked back wearing fancy shoes.

Mr. Applegate, aka Beelzebub (played by Eric Spencer), claims to be nothing but a businessman. He strikes up a deal that Joe Boyd can’t resist. Not only will he exchange the man’s soul for a formidable player, he’ll put the aging real estate salesman at the plate in the shoes of 22-year-old stellar athlete version of himself, Joe Hardy (played by Justin Carrell).

Just wait until the media gets its hands on this one, they’ll probably call him something trite like “Shoeless Joe.” But, come on, it is the 1950s after all.

“We tried to keep it as 50s as we could, reminding the cast to talk like their from the 1950s and not from today,” director Chris Borer said.

Keeping in character 50 years prior has been one of the biggest challenges for the cast, well that and the epic dance scenes that have the entire baseball team steppin’, skippin’ and even flippin’ of the stage Borer noted, but he added the actual characters in the show are so well drawn that the actors are each been able to distinguish themselves.

“I love how there are so many different roles that are available to let people shine,” Borer said, noting that while Applegate, aka the devil, anchors the show, “All the roles around him are really cool roles as well.”

Dan Engelhard plays Van Buren, the team’s manager and Hardy supporter with a near-perfect east coast coach’s voice, Alena Dashiell plays Lola, a seductive vixen who is enlisted by the devil to ensure Hardy doesn’t back out on his end of the deal, despite how home- or lovesick he may be.

All the while, Gloria Thorpe, an inquisitive reporter played by Natika Shewry is trying to uncover the “real story.”

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