February 24, 2003

 

for a full size view, click the image above pictured above Robert Shoquist as "Joe" & Ashley Poulson as "Lola"

�DAMN YANKEES� HITS MORRISON CENTER MARCH 6-9 "Damn Yankees," the enduring musical comedy about America�s beloved pastime of baseball, will hit the Morrison Center Main Hall March 6-9, presented by the Boise State University theatre arts and music departments. The play gives a new twist to the legend of Faust when middle-aged baseball fan Joe Boyd sells his soul to the Devil, in the person of Mr. Applegate, and in exchange is transformed into a youthful baseball player on his favorite team, the Washington Senators. Performance times are 7:30 p.m. March 6-8, 10 a.m. March 7 and 2 p.m. March 9. Tickets, available at Select-a-Seat outlets or at 426-1494 or www.idahotickets.com, are $14 for adults and $11 for seniors, non-Boise State students and Boise State alumni. All tickets for the March 7 matinee are $7. Free tickets for all performances for Boise State students, faculty and staff are available at on-campus box offices only. The play is suitable for all ages. Young Joe (played by theatre arts major Robert Shoquist) soon leads the league in hitting and pitching, but finds out there�s a price to be paid when he longs for his life and wife. The devil�s assistant, Lola (music major Ashley Poulson), with her seductive wiles convincingly conveyed by Marla Hansen�s choreography, urges Joe to keep his bargain with the devil. The cast also includes music department adjunct voice professor Christopher Raynes as Old Joe, theatre arts major Liberty Chase as Joe�s wife, Meg, and music major Alex Fuhriman as Mr. Applegate, the Devil. A team of 28 other students and a 30-student orchestra fills out the lineup. The musical score written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, who also wrote "The Pajama Game," includes "Whatever Lola Wants," "Heart" and "Shoeless Joe from Hannibal MO." Director Richard Klautsch, chair of the theatre arts department, has been a principal actor with the Idaho Shakespeare Festival for 10 years. He has also performed off-Broadway and at various regional theatres across the country, most recently with the Boise Contemporary Theater in the roles of Lee in "True West" and Gayev in "The Cherry Orchard." Choreographer Hansen heads the theatre arts department�s dance emphasis and is co-artistic director of Idaho Dance Theatre. She coordinates the theatre arts department�s annual Summer DanceFest Workshop. She has performed with Ballet West, Portland Ballet, the American Festival Ballet and other companies. She choreographed the full-length "Cinderella" and "Firebird," for which she received an Idaho Commission on the Arts fellowship. The production�s "coach�s corner" includes: voice professor Laura Rushing-Raynes as the musical director; music professor John Baldwin as the orchestra conductor; theatre arts professor Phil Atlakson, who heads the department�s dramatic writing emphasis, as the scenic designer; theatre arts professor and resident costume designer Ann Hoste in charge of costume design; theatre arts master electrician Fred Hansen as lighting designer, and theatre arts professor emeritus Charles Lauterbach portraying the Baseball Commissioner. "Damn Yankees," based on the book "The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant" by Douglas Wallop, was first staged by Wallop and George Abbott on May 5, 1955. With choreography by Bob Fosse, whose wife Gwen Verdon originated the role of Lola, the play was a big hit. For more information about the Boise State production, call (208) 426-3980.   -30- Contact Richard Klautsch Theatre arts department (208) 426-1500 Media contact Pat Pyke communications and marketing (208) 426-1987

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