April 26, 2010

Auditions for a 2011 production of the musical comedy "Damn Yankees" will be held on Tuesday, May 4, and Wednesday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m. in the Music Hall at California State University, Monterey Bay.

Singers should prepare two songs, one from a musical, and are asked to bring their own accompaniment. Those auditioning will also be asked to read from the script.

"Damn Yankees" is a musical comedy by George Abbot and Douglas Wallop about a passionate baseball fan who sells his soul to the devil so that his favorite team, the Washington Senators, can beat the unstoppable New York Yankees and win the pennant.

The Devil, taking the form of a slick salesman, Mr. Applegate, convinces an aging baseball fan, Joe Boyd, to give his soul to become a young, handsome, supernaturally gifted baseball player named Joe Hardy who subsequently joins the Senators, the worst team in the league, and leads them to win game after game. Along the way, Joe Hardy from Hannibal, Mo., misses his wife, Meg, and longs to be with her despite Mr. Applegate's efforts to enthrall him with the charms of a devilish temptress named Lola. Joe Boyd, however, insisted on an escape clause when he made his pact with Mr. Applegate, and will try to exercise it before his time is up. Will Joe succeed or become another lost soul in the collection of Mr. Applegate?

With a series of famous show tunes including "You Gotta Have Heart" and "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets," Damn Yankees is solid entertainment from the first crack of the bat to the last slide into home plate.

A campus map and driving directions are available at csumb.edu/map.

This production will be staged next April 21, 22, and 23. Rehearsals will start in the fall. For more information, call 582-3005.