Damn Yankees Comes To The Landor Theatre

L To R: Douglas Fanning, Barnaby Hughes, Joel Burman, Kiel Payton, Alex Lodge Photo: Roy Tan

The baseball musical with a Faustian twist is coming to the Landor Theatre in October.

From the composers of The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees won eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and includes classics as Whatever Lola Wants and You've Gotta Have Heart.

Middle-aged baseball fanatic Joe Boyd trades his soul to the Devil, also known as Mr. Applegate, for a chance to lead his favorite team to victory in the pennant race against the New York Yankees. As young baseball sensation Joe Hardy, he transforms the hapless Washington Senators into a winning team, only to realize the true worth of the life he's left behind. Joe ultimately outsmarts Applegate, returns to his former self, and shepherds the Senators to the World Series.

The Landor production will feature Jonathan D Ellis (Les Miserables, Blood Brothers) as Applegate, Poppy Tierney as Lola - the best homewrecker on the Devil's staff, and Alex Lodge as Joe Hardy.

Other cast includes Nova Skipp, Gary Bland, Douglas Fanning, Barnaby Hughes, Joel Burman, Sam Stone, Kiel Payton, Ben Sell, Sam Lathwood, Emily Wigley, Kayleigh Thadani, Christopher Tendai, Elizabeth Futter, Sophie May Whitfield, Samson Akewole and Leah Pinney.

2014 is the 75th anniversary of the retirement of Lou Gehrig - the famous Yankees player who was forced to retire after being diagnosed with ALS disorder (Motor Neurone Disease), which has been a frequent topic in the news recently due to the ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’. Damn Yankees at the Landor is staged in recognition of Gehrig’s bravery and achievements. In light of this, 50% of the Box Office profits on 2nd October 2014 will be donated to the MND Association and there will be collection buckets (rather than ice buckets) at the theatre.

Damn Yankees runs at The Landor Theatre from October 1 to October 8 Book Online or on 020 7737 7276