The Edsel Ford High School cast of “Damn Yankees” includes: Lauren DeWulf, Bethany Hawkins, Sara Justice, Erich Ludscher, Josh Cliff, David Nycz, Nathan Booth, Katelyn Harrison, Clare Russell, Molly Menter, Kevin Talanges, Rena Laws, Porjia Tucker, Ben Timpf, Gregory Samuels, Foofoo Dabaja, Clare Young, Brittany Major, Joanna Frantz, Shelby Holmes, Sarah Anderson and Amanda Nemeth. The show will be performed at 7 p.m. May 4 to 7 in the high school’s auditorium.
By Sue Suchyta
Edsel Ford High School will step up to the plate next month with the audience-pleasing baseball musical “Damn Yankees.” The show will run at 7 p.m. May 4 to 7 in the high school’s auditorium 20601 Rotunda in Dearborn.
The Broadway classic centers around a frustrated baseball fan, Joe Boyd, who is tempted to sell his soul to the devil for a “long ball hitter” for the Washington Senators. Boyd is turned into the baseball star.
However, wishes have a way of backfiring, and Joe must choose between baseball and his wife, with his soul hanging in the balance.
The cast includes junior Jared Nelson as the devil, Mr. Applegate; senior Bruce Brown as Joe Hardy; junior Annelise Folkema as Joe’s wife Meg; and senior Michelle Kerr as Lola.
Others in the cast include: freshman Nathan Booth as the Senators’ manager Van Buren, senior Jack Kiraly as Rocky, and sophomore David Nycz as Sohovik. Freshmen Benjamin Timpf is Smokey and Ethan Parsons plays Henry.
Sister Miller is played by senior Rena Laws and her sister Doris is played by sophomore Clare Russell. News Reporter Gloria Thorpe is played by senior Molly Menter.
The Commissioner of Baseball is portrayed by senior Porjia Tucker, and team owner Welch is played by senior Amanda Nemeth.
Eddie is played by junior Lucas Ramon and Lynch is freshman Clare Young, with the Postmistress played by senior Bethany Hawkins.
Others in the cast are seniors Brittany Wilkins, Melanie Probst, Shelby Holmes, Foofoo Dabaja, Anthony Marquez; juniors Meara Thierry, Josh Cliff, and Natalie Randall; sophomores Kevin Talanges and Gregory Samuel; and freshmen Sara Justice, Joanna Frantz, Sarah Anderson, Lauren DeWulf, Owen Drouillard, Katelyn Harrison, and Erich Ludscher.
Select local elementary and middle school students will also be in the show, which is directed by Robert Doyle and choreographed by Simone Calvas. Rick Pierce will direct the orchestra, accompanied by Fauna Navarre.
Box office ticket sales will be held from 2:30 to 6 p.m. April 27 to April 29 and May 2 to May 3 at the school. Pre-sale tickets are $6 for students, children, and senior citizens and are $8 for general admission in advance, or $8 to $10 at the door.
‘THE FULL MONTY’ AT THE BONSTELLE
The boys bare their souls more than their bodies in the human and hilarious musical comedy, “The Full Monty” weekends through April 23 at the Wayne State University Bonstelle Theatre.
The story follows six men who lost their jobs in the steel industry and how they work to reclaim both their pride, financial solvency and their self-esteem by planning a one-night male review as male strippers to earn some much-needed money.
Dearborn actors in the cast include Cal Schwartz as Dave Bukatinsky, Matthew Miazgowicz as Gary and Jacqueline Michnuk as Susan Hershey.
The cast makes their characters very human and sympathetic, and is not afraid to show their vulnerability in a tough economy much like what we face now.
The set changes were quick and clever, keeping the scene changes on pace.
The basketball-like choreography when the men learned to perform together was fun and fascinating.
Alan Ball of the Hilberry, in his third year of the graduate program, was fun to watch as Harold Nichols, the displaced executive trying to hide his layoff from his high-maintenance wife, as was the other Hilberry company transplant Jason Cabral as Jerry Lukowski, a laid-off steel worker trying to catch up on child support payments for his son.
Cal Schwartz of the Bonstelle undergraduate company, who is more often creating costumes for shows, brought a very believable persona to the stage.
For more information about the show, which runs through April 23, go to at www.bonstelle.com. The show contains nudity and mature themes and is not recommended for children.