Harper - Listening Report #1- Damn Yankees

Damn Yankees was written by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop (based on the book The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant by Wallop) with lyrics by Jerry Ross and music by Richard Adler. It was first produced in the year 1955 and the original cast recording came out later that same year starring Ray Walston, Stephen Douglass, and Gwen Verdon. The following year it won the Tony award for “Best Musical” and several other Tony awards, including “Best Conductor and Musical Director.” The show is a musical comedy and therefore the majority of the songs are very lighthearted and up-tempo; however, several different styles of music are incorporated into the score and the different styles are used to highlight the different characters. For instance, songs performed by Lola and Applegate such as “Two Lost Souls” are significantly jazzier than any other songs in the show. This distinction sets these two characters apart as the dirtier characters in the show. By 1955 jazz had become more socially acceptable, but it was still associated with moral corruption (a characteristic which the devil and his sidekick most definitely posses.) The jazziest piece in the show is “Whatever Lola Wants,” which fits perfectly to the character and timing because the song is meant to be a seduction and the character a seductress and the jazz influence only increases the almost sleazy vibe of the song. In stark comparison to Applegate and Lola’s jazz songs are Joe and Meg’s duets, which have a very classical feeling to them. The character archetype of the star-crossed lovers is very stereotypical and a very classic component of musical theatre; thus, they’re songs reflect this. There is one moment at the end of “Near to You” in which the penultimate chord contains a beautiful dissonance, then the last note resolves down rather than up into chord that would be expected. While it does resolve, it doesn’t quite feel right. This fits with the moment so well as it is before Joe reveals himself to Meg and they are in a very dissonant place in their lives, where nothing quite makes sense. The music in that moment reflects that lack of certainty beautifully. In a similar manner, the instrumental line at the end of “A Man Doesn’t Know” is a beautiful ascent that stops before reaching the top of the scale, insinuating that there is something coming later. That moment comes at the end of “A Man Doesn’t Know (Reprise)” when the same ascent is played, but with a harmonic line accompanying that contains the tonic note of the chord providing the listener with a sense of completion. In regards to the vocal lines in “A Man Doesn’t Know” and “A Man Doesn’t Know (Reprise)” it is worth noting that the majority of the original piece is sung separately by Meg and Joe, until the very ending line; however, only the very beginning of the reprise is sung alone by Meg and the rest is in harmony with a couple beautiful moments of unison to resonate their reunion with the listener. In the chorus numbers, an almost separate style of music is utilized. The chorus numbers take more of a large ensemble feel than the intimate, classical duets or jazz solos (which is to be expected as they are chorus numbers; however, not all musicals have chorus numbers that are distinctly different from the rest of the show.) This different style really sets the rest of the characters, particularly the rest of Joe’s team, apart from the four main characters. By differentiating the moments involving the large ensemble and Joe it emphasizes his isolation from everyone else in the show. Then, in the ending “Finale,” Joe is brought into a chorus number, as if symbolically ending his isolation and allowing him to reassume his life as Joe Boyd rather than Joe Hardy. Meg follows a similar pattern; however, she starts off the show in a chorus number “Six Month Out of Every Year” and then is not involved in another one until the “Finale.” The time period in between is the time in which she believes Joe is missing; therefore, she is disconnected from the outside world and the chorus. The variation in the music fits the characters and plot very well.