Damn Yankees, a musical by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, at the New York City Center Encores! Starring Sean Hayes, Jane Krakowski, Randy Graff, and Cheyenne Jackson.
This near ideal, deluxe revival of a beloved vintage, if not quite great, musical of the 1950's begins with a delightful "turn off your cel phones" announcement from the New York Yankees radio announcers John Sterling and Susan Waldman. This is just one of the many production touches that make this revival such a delight. The 1950's sets and costumes are colorful perfection, easily the best we've seen from Encores! The cast is wonderful with Sean Hayes in his New York stage debut a revelation. A triple threat, he can play the piano, he can sing, and he has the dry Devil role to a T! The audience ate him up. As Lola, Jane Krakowski, a favorite of ours, is a warm and engaging presence. She doesn't have the dance moves for the Fosse ballets (which are still very much a joy to see), but she sings well and looks great. Character wise, Krakowski's a little too lovable (it's impossible not to like her from the start). But all in all in all she's a plus in a strongly cast revival which includes the marvelous Randy Graff as Meg Boyd, and P.J. Benjamin as Joe Boyd. Cheyenne Jackson, a hunk who can sing and dance, is a superb Joe Hardy. We had a marvelous time at this fizzy, colorful revival. Broadway Bridge and Tunnel Test mark A-