‘Damn Yankees’ at the Count Basie Theatre in September

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RED BANK – Phoenix Productions, the award-winning community theater organization, will present the hit Broadway classic Damn Yankees for two weekends beginning Friday, Sept. 20 and concluding Sunday, Sept. 29, at the Count Basie Theatre, 99 Monmouth St.
Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbot and Douglass Wallop, and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. It tells the story of Joe Boyd, a middle-aged sports fan who trades his soul to the Devil for a chance to regain his youth and lead his baseball team, the Washington Senators, past the hated Yankees as the Major League baseball star Joe Hardy. With musical numbers like “Those Were the Good Old Days,” “Goodbye Old Girl,” and the iconic “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets,” it’s no wonder the production ran on Broadway for more than 1,000 performances and took home seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Eric Harper of Edison, Jackie Mercandetti of Shrewsbury, and James Grausam of Carteret appear in the musical Damn Yankees, coming in September to the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank.
Eric Harper of Edison, Jackie Mercandetti of Shrewsbury, and James Grausam of Carteret appear in the musical Damn Yankees, coming in September to the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank.

The cast is lead by Eric Harper as the major league slugger, Joe Hardy; James Grausam as the slick and cunning “Devil” Applegate; and Jackie Mercandetti as the sultry and infamous Lola. The cast is mixed in experience and age – Phoenix veterans work alongside newcomers as young as 8 years old.
Produced by Lindsay Wood, directed by Mike Kroll, musically directed by Andrew Macirowski and choreographed by Rachel Wasser, the show promises to be a home run of a musical experience for baseball and theater lovers alike.
Performances are 8 p.m. Sept. 20-21 and 27-28 and 3 p.m. Sept. 22 and 29.
Tickets are available by contacting the Count Basie Theatre box office at 732-842-9000 or visiting www.countbasietheatre.org.
Phoenix Productions is a nonprofit community theater organization devoted for more than 25 years to making high quality theater accessible and affordable. More information is available at www.phoenixredbank.com.