‘Damn Yankees’ will return to Broadway next spring in a new revival featuring Neil Patrick Harris, Julianne Hough and Austin Scott. The production will begin preview performances on March 24, with opening night scheduled for April 20 at the Marquis Theatre.
This marks the first Broadway revival of the 1955 musical in more than 30 years. The current production follows a run at Washington D.C.’s Arena Stage in the previous fall and features a revised book by Will Power and Dough Wright, with additional lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Director and choreographer Sergio Trujillo leads the creative team. Harris will play Applegate, the devilish title character, while Hough makes her Broadway debut as Lola, Joe’s wife. Scott plays Young Joe, with additional cast members to be announced.
The revival relocates the story from its original 1950s setting to the early 2000s. In this version, Joe Boyd is a devoted Baltimore Orioles fan who makes a supernatural bargain to save his struggling team. The updated narrative maintains the core elements of the original Adler and Ross score while bringing the story into a contemporary timeframe.
Harris previously won a Tony Award for the 2014 revival of ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’ and has hosted the Tony Awards multiple times. He recently appeared on Broadway in the play ‘Art’ alongside James Corden and Bobby Cannavale. The casting marks his first major Broadway musical role.
In a significant partnership, Major League Baseball and its production label MLB Studios are serving as official partners on the production, marking a first for Broadway. Producer Haley Swindal, granddaughter of late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, leads the production alongside Lia Vollack. MLB Deputy Commissioner Noah Garden emphasized the importance of baseball’s cultural presence extending beyond sports into entertainment venues.
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