FORT WORTH – You might not have noticed, but the old silver-domed, refurbished Casa Mañana might just be the best place to see an old-fashioned musical in North Texas. And Damn Yankees is just the show to show it off.
For most of the last 50 years, Casa was a theater-in-the-round performing summer stock. After Bass Performance Hall opened a decade ago, the organization's emphasis shifted to presenting tours there. A big overhaul since then changed the original building's configuration, but I hadn't seen a classic musical in the revamped thrust space until Tuesday.
Damn Yankees, as directed by Elliot Wasserman, bursts off the stage and into the lap of the audience – much as the sexy Lola does when she tries to seduce Joe in the first act. This early '50s piece is perhaps overlong for contemporary audiences, but it's fun, especially this close up.
Joe, you will recall if you're a veteran theatergoer, is a young ballplayer with supernatural powers granted to him by the devil (alias Mr. Applegate). We first see a middle-aged Joe watching his favorite Washington Senators on TV, ignoring his wife's attempts at conversation. Mr. Applegate offers him a chance at youth and baseball stardom. Joe takes them, but hankers for home. The bad guy brings in his seductive associate Lola, whose job is to make Joe forget what he left behind.
Casa's production uses a lot of local talent, including Clare Floyd DeVries to design a super set. Wendy Welch is appealing as the abandoned wife, and the ballplayers' quartet sings the show's No. 1 hit, "Heart," strongly (though they can't pass for even out-of-shape major leaguers). As the young Joe, Christopher J. Deaton, now based in Texas, hits one out of the park from his very first phrases.
The out-of-towners are judicious hires, as well. Lindsay Roginski has the same gamin charm – and the same sort loose-limbed dance moves – as the original Lola, Gwen Verdon. Richard Kind, best known for TV silliness (Spin City), has big-time musical credentials (including the Stephen Sondheim original Bounce! that never got to Broadway).
PLAN YOUR LIFE Through Sunday at Casa Mañana Theatre, Fort Worth. Runs 165 mins. $40 to $69. 817-332-2272, www.casamanana.org.
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