Damn Yankees–Part Two

Well, here we are in Part Two, which means that we owe you the second version of “Whatever Lola Wants.” In 1994, there was a revival of the show on Broadway, with Bebe Neuwirth playing Lola and Victor Garber playing Applegate. In 1995, Jerry Lewis made his Broadway debut as Applegate, replacing Garber. We have a clip from that revival (not great video quality), with Susan Ann Taylor portraying Lola and Jerry Lewis as Applegate.

Lola fails to seduce Joe Hardy; and, in the play, is sent away to dwell with others who have failed Applegate. They sing a wonderful mambo, called “Who’s Got the Pain.” In the movie, the song is used in a tribute to honor the Senators. We have a clip from the movie, starring Bob Fosse, the choreographer, and Gwen Verdon.

Finally, Joe Hardy opts out of his agreement and returns to Meg. In the movie, Meg (Shannon Bolin) sings about her missing husband in a poignant song called “There’s Something About an Empty Chair,” a song that is reprised at the end of the movie by Shannon Bolin and Robert Shafer. Here is an audio clip from the soundtrack recording.

Finally, there is a lovely song from the play, when the young Joe Hardy (played by Stephen Douglass) befriends Meg. He sings the song that all of us know only too well, a song about not knowing the value of what we had when we had it. The lyric is still as true as the day it was written. Here is an audio clip from the original cast recording of “A Man Doesn’t Know.”

We have one last treat for you; here is a clip from the 2012 Papermill Playhouse revival of Damn Yankees.