Ray Walston News

DAMN YANKEES, the 1955 Broadway musical based on the Faust legend, will be staged by Light Opera Works at Cahn Auditorium in Evanston, June 7 through 15. The production features a full 28-piece orchestra accompanying such songs as 'Whatever Lola Wants (Lola Gets)' and 'You Gotta Have Heart.'

James Rocco (Vice President Programming and Producing Artistic Director of Ordway Center for the Performing Arts) is being recognized for his 25 Years of Dedication to the theatre at 3:30 p.m. on September 24, 2013 at the Times Square Visitor Center. The Broadway League and Coalition of Broadway Unions will be inducting James as well as Rob Ashford, Karen Azenberg, Jeff Calhoun, Sheldon Epps, Joey McKneely, Gregory Mosher and Susan Stroman into BROADWAY SALUTES.

The bases are loaded with musical theatre magic as TriArts Sharon Playhouse, under the leadership of Alice BemandExecutive Director and John Simpkins Artistic Director, presents the Tony Award-winning musical Damn Yankees from August 14-25 on the TriArts Mainstage (49 Amenia Road, Sharon). Check out a first look at the cast in action below!

The bases are loaded with musical theatre magic as TriArts Sharon Playhouse, under the leadership of Alice Bem and Executive Director and John Simpkins Artistic Director, presents the Tony Award-winning musical Damn Yankees from August 14-25 on the TriArts Mainstage (49 Amenia Road, Sharon).

The award winning Foothill Music Theatre swings for the fences this summer with the Tony Award-winning musical DAMN YANKEES. With book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, DAMN YANKEES, the musical story of a baseball fanatic who makes a deal with the devil to get his team a chance at the pennant, features a memorable Richard Adler and Jerry Ross score including 'Whatever Lola Want, Lola Gets,' and (You've Gotta Have) 'Heart.' This production will be helmed by Tom Gough with music direction by Catherine Snider, and choreography by Katie O'Bryon and plays today, July 26 - August 18 in the Smithwick Theatre, Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Rd., Los Altos Hills

The award winning Foothill Music Theatre swings for the fences this summer with the Tony Award-winning musical DAMN YANKEES. This production will be helmed by Tom Gough with music direction by Catherine Snider, and choreography by Katie O'Bryon and plays July 26 - August 18 in the Smithwick Theatre, Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Rd., Los Altos Hills.

Award-winning actor, singer, dancer and comedian Eddie Mekka, who is famously recognized for his role as "Carmine 'the big Ragu' Ragusa" from the ABC-TV sitcom Laverne and Shirley, returns to Naples, Sunday, March 24 to headline TheatreZone's fundraiser Eddie Mekka…with a little Ragoo on the Side.

On Thursday, three-time Tony Award-winning Broadway composer Richard Adler passed away at the ripe old age of 90. Responsible for two of the biggest Broadway smash hits of the 1950s, THE PAJAMA GAME and GAMN YANKEES, Adler never quite managed to equal his career-high double-hitter of that era, yet his earlier work with Tony Bennett ('Rags To Riches'), Doris Day ('Everybody Loves A Lover') and Marilyn Monroe (the iconic 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President') surely shall solidify his place in the firmament of entertainment history along with his two classic musicals from the Golden Age. Winning both Best Score and Best Musical for both THE PAJAMA GAME and DAMN YANKEES, Adler's partnership with lyricist Jerry Ross - which began on Broadway in 1953 with JOHN MURRAY ANDERSON'S ALMANAC - was tragically cut short just months after the DAMN YANKEES premiere when Ross was diagnosed with lung disease and passed away soon thereafter. Yet, thanks to the beloved film versions of THE PAJAMA GAME and DAMN YANKEES and continued interest in the entities as expressed in the revivals and reappraisals of both onstage from Broadway to Biloxi to Bombay year after year, the snappy, snazzy tunes of Adler and Ross live on eight times a week all around the world - even now, more than fifty years after they premiered. Unfortunately, Adler's subsequent shows with other collaborators post-1955 failed to capture the early magic of his previous projects with Ross and his earlier musical and theatrical endeavors in the pop arena, with the racially charged KWAMINA flopping on Broadway in 1961 (though he took home a Best Composer Tony Award for his efforts anyway) and the awkwardly titled MUSIC IS failing to recreate the magic of its source material, Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT, in 1976. A MOTER'S KISSES, starring Bea Arthur and a young Bernadette Peters, died on the road, as well. In the intervening years, Adler attempted musical adaptations taken from a number of intriguing sources - OF HUMAN BONDAGE and others among them - though only his ballet scores seemed to reach an audience; particularly his last, commissioned for a new production of Lorca's THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA in 1998. Of course, THE PAJAMA GAME has had two Broadway revivals - most recently the rapturously received Kathleen Marshall-directed production starring Harry Connick, Jr. and Kelli O'Hara; and DAMN YANKEES famously returned to the Great White Way with much ado in 1994 starring Victor Garber. Now seems particularly ripe for remounting YANKEES, as we approach twenty years in its absence - especially given the musical's seriously smashing showing at Encores! in 2007. Who knows, perhaps some risky producer will even take a chance on a new production of KWAMINA, MUSIC IS, A MOTHER'S KISSES or one of the bottom drawer shows someday soon to see if they possess any of the limitless potential shown by Adler's earlier work. Or maybe a stage treatment of his TV musical GIFT OF THE MAGI (originally composed for then-wife Sally Ann Howes)? Or, better yet, how about a revue? What a stupendous songstack Adler created over the course of his career - 'Whatever Lola Wants' to 'Hey There' to 'Hernando's Hideaway' to 'You Gotta Have Heart' to 'Steam Heat' to the aforementioned Bennett, Day and Monroe standards and so many more chestnuts.

Probably the golden age of musical theatre in the US was from 1950 to 1960. Great scripts like King and I, My Fair Lady, and West Side Story were staged. Also produced were such flops as Salad Days, Zuleika, Ankles Away, The Vamp, ShaNgri-La, Shinbone Alley, and Free As Air. Most shows were of the neither great nor flop variety. These included the likes of Call Me Madam, Guys and Dolls, Paint Your Wagon, Can-Can, Wonderful Town, Fanny, and The Pajama Game. Also included in the list was DAMN YANKEES, now on stage at Porthouse Theatre.

Broadway veteran Bill Starr directs Hillbarn Theatre's upcoming production of the Mel Brooks musical, The Producers, playing May 3-27. Below, Starr talks about how his own experience informed his direction of the show, what makes the show fun and unique, and what audiences can expect from Hillbarn's production.

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre opened its doors for the very first time in 1995, seventeen years later, the theatre is preparing to open its 18th Season on January 13th, with the musical comedy Damn Yankees.

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre opened its doors for the very first time in 1995, seventeen years later, the theatre is preparing to open its 18th Season on January 13th, with the musical comedy Damn Yankees.

The Whole Backstage Theatre in Guntersville is happy to announce auditions for Damn Yankees, the theatre's summer musical production, directed by Rich Resler.

The Whole Backstage Theatre in Guntersville is happy to announce auditions for Damn Yankees, the theatre's summer musical production, directed by Rich Resler.

The 2010-2011 national tour of the new Broadway production of GREASETM closes in Indianapolis at Clowes Memorial Hall, March 227th.

The 2010-2011 national tour of the new Broadway production of GREASE™ opens in Indianapolis at Clowes Memorial Hall, March 22nd and runs through the 27th as part of the Broadway Across America 10/11 Season.

The Whole Backstage Theatre in Guntersville is happy to announce auditions for Damn Yankees, the theatre's summer musical production, directed by Rich Resler.

The 2010-2011 national tour of the new Broadway production of GREASETM closes in Grand Rapids at DeVos Performance Hall March 6, 2011.