The Tooele High School Theatre Department will present the musical comedy “Damn Yankees” starting on Monday night.
THS drama teacher J. Scott Henry is directing the play, and two separate casts will perform. Henry said double casting is a method he prefers.
“We have several fine young actors in this play,” Henry said.
The play is based on Douglass Wallops’ 1954 novel “The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant.”
It was produced as a stage production in 1955, and won a Tony Award for Best Musical in 1956, according to stageagent.com.
Henry said the play is a classic Faustian production.
A tale of Faust is one about someone who is tired of his monotonous life, which does not seem it can go anywhere, according to tasteofcinema.com. It is derived from the classic German legend, Johann George Faust.
In “Damn Yankees,” Joe Boyd sells his soul to the devil to become the home run hitter that will guide his favorite team, the Washington Senators, to a win against those “damn Yankees.”
Old Joe Boyd, later known as young Joe Hardy, is played by Alec Grundvig and Cody Skelton.
Boyd’s wife Meg is played by Angel Mounteer and Emily Whitehouse. Mr. Applegate is portrayed by Preston Bowden and Brady Hamilton, and the young Joe Hardy is played by Nathan Ellis and Ian Rockwell.
Lola, a girl who gets whatever she wants, is portrayed by Addison Griffith and Uriah Wiltson.
Gloria Thorpe, a newspaper reporter, who wants to know just where this new young Joe Hardy really came from, is played by Kaitlyn Pankowski and Tanya Unruh.
The setting is Washington, D.C. in the summer of 1958, according to Henry. Mr. Applegate shows up to take Joe Boyd up on selling his soul to the devil. He even brings along Lola to assure Joe gives in. But what Applegate doesn’t realize is that for Joe, love and marriage is more powerful than youth, wealth and fame.
The show runs Monday through Saturday with performances at 7 p.m. A matinee is scheduled for May 5 at 1 p.m. The final performance will be on Monday evening, May 7.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for senior citizens, students and children. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the box office prior to the show, or by calling Henry at 435- 833-1978 ext. 2001.
The school is located at 301 W. Vine Street in Tooele.