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 Lolas jazz songs are Joe and Megs 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, theyre 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 doesnt 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 Doesnt 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 Doesnt 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 Doesnt
Know and A Man Doesnt 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 Joes 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.