MLB superstar Reggie Jackson will play ball on the Broadway stage as Mr. Welch in Roundabout Theatre Company's upcoming benefit performance of Damn Yankees. Kathleen Marshall will direct and choreograph the concert, set to take place on December 11 at 7:30pm at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.
Jackson is a former professional baseball right-fielder who played 21 Major League Baseball seasons for teams including the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, California Angels and New York Yankees. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Also newly announced to the Damn Yankees cast is an ensemble including Jill Abramovitz, Paula Leggett Chase, Lawrence Clayton, Greg Hildreth, Tari Kelly, Michael McCormick, Shina Ann Morris, Kevin Munhall, Keven Quillon, Samantha Sturm, Anthony Wayne, Haley Swindal, Noah Weisberg and Christian Dante White.
The principal cast of Damn Yankees also includes the previously announced Matthew Morrison as Joe Hardy, Stephen Bogardus as Joe Boyd, Adrienne Warren as Gloria Thorpe, Maggie Gyllenhaal as Lola, Whoopi Goldberg as Applegate, Danny Burstein as Van Buren, Victoria Clark as Meg, Annie Golden as Doris and Julie Halston as Sister.
George Abbott, Douglass Wallop, Richard Adler and Jerry Ross' Damn Yankees follows Joe Boyd (Bogardus), who sells his soul to the devil (Goldberg) to become the home-run hitter (Morrison) that will guide his favorite team, the Washington Senators, to win against those "Damn Yankees." The show features the musical-theater standards "Two Lost Souls," "Shoeless Joe" and "Whatever Lola Wants."
Proceeds from the Damn Yankees benefit will support Roundabout's many programs and initiatives, including Education at Roundabout. Certain tickets will include admission to an exclusive cast party following the performance.