DAMN YANKEES

LOS ANGELES TIMES
Theater Beat
Los Angeles, California
Friday, September 29, 2000

Mod Revival of 'Damn Yankees' Is Just Devilishly Good Fun
By F. KATHLEEN FOLEY

Wow. And again, wow. April Nixon's performance in "Damn Yankees" at the Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities in Redondo Beach is just that--a double wow. Nixon was nominated for an Olivier in 1998 when she played Lola in the West End--and it's easy to see why. The most sizzling Lola this side of hellfire, Nixon is an exotic powerhouse who belts and shimmies like a woman in need of the first available exorcist.

And the rest of the show ain't too shabby, either. Not to mix too many metaphors, but Sha Newman's staging of this classic baseball yarn is built like a brick dugout, solidly constructed down to the ground. As a director and choreographer, Newman has the knack of revitalizing vintage musicals without resorting to revisionist gimmickry. A regular at South Bay Cities (a Newman-staged "West Side Story" won the Ovation Award for best musical last year), she scores again with "Yankees," a Broadway-caliber production with handsome technical elements and a great cast.

It's true that next to Nixon, Lenny Wolpe, who plays Applegate, comes across as a bit of a utility player. A consummately affable performer, Wolpe is likable to a fault, underplaying Applegate's gleeful malice by just a whisper. However, Wolpe brings his considerable stage savvy to bear in "Those Were the Good Old Days"--an unalloyed delight.

But then, delights are bountiful in this production, including Eric Kunze as an appealingly wholesome Joe Hardy, Doug Carfrae as a yearning but faithful Joe Boyd, and Marsha Waterbury as Meg Boyd, Joe's loyal missus. All in all, this is a damned fine "Yankees," and a devilish amount of fun.