{"id":251689,"date":"2017-06-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-02T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/mixing-the-underworld-with-baseball\/"},"modified":"2017-06-02T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-06-02T07:00:00","slug":"mixing-the-underworld-with-baseball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/mixing-the-underworld-with-baseball\/","title":{"rendered":"Mixing the underworld with baseball"},"content":{"rendered":"

por David Dixon<\/p>\n

No one said that being an athlete was easy. Athletes competing in big-league sports must make sacrifices to achieve success.<\/p>\n

Not all paths to glory start with moral choices, such as achieving fame after making a deal with the devil. This twist on the Faustian legend is the premise of \u201cDamn Yankees,\u201d set in the 1950s and inspired by the novel, \u201cThe Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant.\u201d The Yankees were a dynasty in those days.<\/p>\n

\"Mixing
Neil Dale<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A middle-aged baseball fan, Joe Boyd (played by Steve Gunderson), is a devoted follower of the underdog team, the Washington Senators. He desperately wants the Senators to win a game against the Yankees.<\/p>\n

His prayers are answered by Satan, aka Applegate (Neil Dale).<\/p>\n

\"Mixing
Chaz Feuerstine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Applegate transforms Joe into a gifted slugger, Joe Hardy (Chaz Feuerstine). The catch is that the older Joe won\u2019t be able to return to his normal life if he plays during the final Senators game of the season.<\/p>\n

Talmadge resident James Vasquez is the director of the San Diego Musical Theatre\u2019s production at the Spreckels Theatre, and he is a passionate baseball fan. From a young age, Vasquez loved the music from the beloved musical comedy.<\/p>\n

\"Mixing
James Vasquez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI grew up playing baseball,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I heard there was a baseball musical, I knew I would enjoy the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

The original Broadway production in 1955 was hailed for the choreography by the legendary Bob Fosse. Vasquez promises that Jill Gorrie\u2019s choreography for this interpretation will feature dancing inspired by Fosse, while also highlighting the strengths of the ensemble.<\/p>\n

Aiding Gorrie until the end of the run is dance captain Luke Harvey Jacobs, a Normal Heights resident. His responsibilities are to ensure that the choreography isn\u2019t altered or weakened from rehearsals to closing night.<\/p>\n

The most dance-heavy song for Jacobs is the toe-tapping number, \u201cShoeless Joe From Hannibal Mo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of tricks and athletic dancing,\u201d he said. \u201cGorrie\u2019s movements are simultaneously creative and based in reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mixing
Luke Harvey Jacobs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Additionally, Jacobs is cast as the intelligent and blunt Senators Polish player Sohovik. For Jacobs, part of the appeal of playing Sohovik is his support for Joe and his teammates.<\/p>\n

Another popular aspect of \u201cDamn Yankees\u201d is the score by composer Richard Adler and lyricist Jerry Ross. University Heights resident Don LeMaster will conduct the musical numbers, including the famous \u201cWhatever Lola Wants\u201d and \u201cHeart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mixing
Don LeMaster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What moves LeMaster the most, however, are the ballads that the younger and older Joe sing.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018A Man Doesn\u2019t Know\u2019 and \u2018Near to You\u2019 are so beautiful,\u201d he said. \u201cAlso, I cry every time when Joe Boyd sings \u2018Goodbye Old Girl\u2019 before he is transformed into Joe Hardy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout Joe\u2019s journey, Applegate adds mischievous humor and complexity to the tale. Although Satan is technically the antagonist, Vasquez knows audiences can be made to root for the charismatic and likable evil ruler of the underworld.<\/p>\n

Vasquez and Jacobs would both like to play Applegate at some point in time.<\/p>\n

\u201cApplegate is a dream character-actor role,\u201d Vasquez said.<\/p>\n

\"Mixing\u201cWho doesn\u2019t want to play the devil?\u201d Jacobs said.<\/p>\n

Vasquez is happy to work on a narrative that appeals to people who don\u2019t necessarily attend musicals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think baseball lovers are going to love Joe\u2019s adventure,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope the whole family comes and that dad joins them as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everything is on track for a consistently fun, smart and emotional crowd pleaser. You don\u2019t need to sell your soul to enjoy a spellbinding evening of entertainment.<\/p>\n

\u2014Fan\u00e1tico del cine y el teatro desde muy joven, David Dixon ha escrito rese\u00f1as y reportajes para varias publicaciones impresas y en l\u00ednea. Puedes localizarlo en <\/em>daviddixon0202@gmail.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By David Dixon No one said that being an athlete was easy. Athletes competing in big-league sports must make sacrifices to achieve success. Not all paths to glory start with moral choices, such as achieving fame after making a deal with the devil. This twist on the Faustian legend is the premise of \u201cDamn Yankees,\u201d […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":819,"featured_media":251690,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Mixing the underworld with baseball","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-251689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/819"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}