Arena Stage's Bold New Damn Yankees: A 21st Century Reimagining

When "Damn Yankees" opens at Arena Stage this September 9, audiences will witness what director-choreographer Sergio Trujillo calls not merely a revival, but a "revisal" - a carefully crafted reimagining that preserves the soul of the 1955 Broadway classic while boldly addressing the realities of modern America.

The iconic songs remain - "Whatever Lola Wants," "Who's Got the Pain," and "Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo." - but everything else has been thoughtfully transformed by adapters Doug Wright and Will Power, with additional lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. This isn't your grandfather's "Damn Yankees."

Damn Yankees at Arena Stage

Perhaps the most significant change is the shift from the 1950s to the year 2000, bringing with it a completely reimagined protagonist. Joe Boyd is now envisioned as a Black baseball fan whose motivation for making a deal with the devil runs far deeper than team loyalty. In this version, Joe's father was a star in the Negro Leagues during the 1950s - talented enough to excel but denied the opportunity to break baseball's color barrier alongside legends like Jackie Robinson.

This backstory transforms Joe's supernatural bargain from a simple fan's wish into something more profound: a chance to fulfill not just his own dreams, but to right a historical injustice that affected his family. As the character grapples with his newfound abilities, the production explores themes of legacy, sacrifice, and the ongoing impact of systemic exclusion in American sports.

From Washington to Baltimore

The team allegiance has shifted as well. With the Washington Senators long defunct and the Nationals not yet established in 2000, Wright and Power relocated the action to Baltimore, making the Orioles the underdogs hoping to topple the mighty Yankees. This change serves both practical and thematic purposes - Baltimore's blue-collar identity better embodies the David-versus-Goliath narrative the story requires, while the Orioles' struggles during that era (they were mired in 14 consecutive losing seasons) provide the perfect backdrop for supernatural intervention.

Modern Moral Complexities

The updated timeline allows the production to grapple with contemporary issues facing professional baseball. Where the original dealt with simpler notions of fair play, this version introduces the specter of performance-enhancing drugs - a scandal that dominated sports headlines around 2000. Joe's meteoric rise now raises questions about steroid use, adding layers of moral complexity to his supernatural abilities.

The financial landscape of modern baseball also influences the story. With player salaries having skyrocketed since the 1950s, the temptations facing Joe extend beyond mere athletic glory to include enormous monetary rewards, raising the stakes of his deal with the devil.

Empowering the Women

The female characters have received particular attention in this revision. Meg, Joe's devoted wife, is no longer the passive housewife of the original. She maintains her own career and actively confronts Joe about his mysterious disappearance, rather than simply accepting his return without question.

Lola, the seductive temptress, remains a captivating figure but with crucial changes. Rather than the culturally appropriative character of the original, she's now authentically Latina, portrayed by Ana Villafañe. The devil's exploitation of her identity adds new dimensions to her arc, while Ahrens' lyrical revisions have eliminated the more problematic elements of songs like "The Game," which originally objectified women.

Preserving the Magic

Despite these substantial changes, the creative team has been careful to maintain what made the original so beloved. Trujillo has incorporated choreographic homages to Bob Fosse's iconic work, and the essential Faustian tale of temptation, love, and redemption remains intact. The production team describes their goal as refreshing the show without losing its soul.

Wright, who won both a Pulitzer and Tony for "I Am My Own Wife," emphasizes that the love story between Joe and Meg remains the show's emotional core. The supernatural elements serve that central relationship, creating what he promises will be a "Damn Yankees" that moves audiences to tears.

A Production for Today

This reimagined "Damn Yankees" reflects a broader trend in musical theater - taking beloved classics and thoughtfully updating them to speak to contemporary audiences while respecting their original spirit. Rather than simply mounting a nostalgic reproduction, Arena Stage is presenting a version that acknowledges how America has changed while celebrating what remains timeless about the story.

The production assembles a cast that reflects the diversity of modern baseball, moving beyond what Wright playfully describes as the "talented but somewhat effete chorus boys" often seen in previous productions to embrace the varied body types and backgrounds of today's professional athletes.
As Arena Stage launches its 75th anniversary season with this ambitious undertaking, they're making a statement about the power of musical theater to evolve and remain relevant. This "Damn Yankees" isn't content to simply transport audiences back to 1955 - instead, it invites them to consider how the themes of ambition, love, and moral choice resonate in our current moment.

The result promises to be both familiar and revolutionary: a "Damn Yankees" that honors its past while fearlessly confronting the complexities of its - and our - present.