Guide to 'Damn Yankees' on Broadway starring Neil Patrick Harris, Julianne Hough, and Austin Scott

The 2026 Broadway revival of Damn Yankees follows Joe Boyd, a Black man and die-hard Baltimore Orioles fan, who bargains with the devil, Applegate, to help turn his team into champions. As he pursues his dream, Joe must resist Applegate’s seductive assistant, Lola, and confront ambition, racism, love, and integrity.

The show was originally set in the 1950s and followed a Washington Senators fan in D.C. Sergio Trujillo moved the action to 2000, when the Yankees won their third consecutive World Series, to up the underdog stakes.

Damn Yankees plays at the Marquis Theatre, located at 1535 Broadway between 45th and 46th Streets inside the Marriott Marquis Hotel. Recent productions at the theatre include Stranger Things: The First Shadow (through January 3), Elf, The Wiz, and Once Upon a One More Time.

Damn Yankees is expected to run around 2 hours and 15 minutes, including intermission, as it did in its pre-Broadway run. This is subject to change as Broadway performances get closer.

Past productions of Damn Yankees were recommended for audiences ages 6 and up. The Broadway production has yet to release an age requirement; this article will be updated with that information once announced.

Damn Yankees plays Tuesday through Sunday, with two performances on Wednesdays and Saturdays and no performances on Mondays. This standard schedule is subject to one-off changes; please visit our Damn Yankees page for a complete performance calendar.

Damn Yankees made its Broadway debut in 1955, a year after its source material, the novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, came out. On March 24, 2027, the new Broadway staging begins performances, following its 2025 run at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.

Damn Yankees has an original book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, a revised book by Will Power and Doug Wright, and a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross.

Abbott and Wallop's original 1955 script puts a modern spit-shine on the Faust legend of trading one’s soul for youth, fame, and glory. Abbott is a prolific Broadway author, director, and producer, and Douglas Wallop wrote the 1954 novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, which the musical is based on. Composer/lyricists Adler and Ross are the songwriting team behind the musical The Pajama Game.

The 2027 Broadway revival features Adler and Ross’s famous score, with additional lyrics by Ragtime Tony winner Lynn Ahrens. The book is adapted by Will Power, who wrote the Off-Broadway play Fetch Clay, Make Man and makes his Broadway debut, and Doug Wright, who won a 2004 Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize for I Am My Own Wife. Wright’s other Broadway credits include the play Good Night, Oscar and the books for the musicals Grey Gardens and War Paint.

The show’s main characters are tied to baseball stadiums and the underworld for a playful mix of heart and soul that goes on into extra innings.

• Applegate: The devil himself, disguised as a smooth-talking salesman.
• Lola: Applegate’s seductive assistant who likes to get what she wants.
• Joe Hardy: The Orioles' all-star slugger whose dad played in the Negro Leagues but was denied access to Major League Baseball.
• Joe Boyd: A middle-aged Orioles fan who makes a pact with Applegate to become Joe Hardy to help his favorite team.
• Meg Boyd: Joe Boyd’s loving wife.
• Gloria Thorpe: A plucky reporter.
• Van Buren: The manager of the Orioles.

The star-studded Broadway cast of Damn Yankees features Emmy and Tony Award winner Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) as Applegate, Emmy winner Julianne Hough (Dancing With the Stars) as Lola, and Austin Scott (& Juliet) as Joe Hardy. Other cast members will be announced soon.

The Damn Yankees score blends big-band rhythms, playful humor, romantic ballads, and energetic, baseball-inspired showstoppers. Check out the full song list below.

• “Six Months Out of Every Year”
• “Goodbye, Old Girl”
• “Heart”
• “Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo.”
• “A Man Doesn't Know”
• “A Little Brains, A Little Talent”
• “A Man Doesn't Know” (Reprise)
• “Whatever Lola Wants”
• “Not Meg”
• “Who's Got the Pain?”
• "The American League"
• “The Downtown Fan Club”
• “The Game”
• “Heart” (Reprise)
• “Near To You”
• “Those Were the Good Old Days”
• “Two Lost Souls”
• “A Man Doesn't Know” (Reprise)

Damn Yankees productions have been honored with prestigious awards and nominations in New York and London.

• 1956 Tony Awards: The show won Best Musical, Actor (Ray Walston), Actress (Gwen Verdon), Featured Actor (Russ Brown), Choreography (Bob Fosse), Conductor and Musical Director, and Stage Technician. It was also up for Best Actor (Stephen Douglass) and Featured Actress (Rae Allen).
• 1994 Tony Awards: The show won for Best Featured Actor (Jerrod Emick) and was nominated for Best Musical Revival, Best Actor (Victor Garber), and Best Choreography.
• 1994 Drama Desk Awards: Emick won for Featured Actor, and the show was nominated for Outstanding Musical Revival and Outstanding Orchestrations.
• 1994 Theatre World Awards: Emick won.
• 1998 Olivier Awards: The West End staging was nominated for Best Musical Revival, Best Supporting Performance (April Nixon), and Best Choreography.

The 2027 revival of Damn Yankees from Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., marks the third time the show has been on Broadway since 1955. The musical comedy has also appeared in other noteworthy runs.

• 1955: The Broadway world premiere runs 1,019 performances. It began May 5 at the 46th Street Theatre and ended at the Adelphi Theatre.
• 1957: The West End premiere begins March 28 and runs for 258 performances at the London Coliseum.
• 1994: The first Broadway revival starring Victor Garber, Bebe Neuwirth, and Jarrod Emick began March 3 runs for 519 performances at the Marquis Theatre. Jerry Lewis replaced Garber during the run.
• 1997: The West End production of the 1994 Broadway revival runs June 4 to August 9. Jerry Lewis reprised his role as Applegate.
• 2008: A New York City Center Encores! staging starring Sean Hayes, Jane Krakowski, and Cheyenne Jackson runs July 5-27.
• 2025: The pre-Broadway Arena Stage production in D.C., starring Rob McClure, Ana Villafañe, and Jordan Donica, runs from September 9 to November 9.
• 2027: The second Broadway revival begins performances on March 24.

Damn Yankees has been adapted for the screen twice. The 1958 film, directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen, starred Tab Hunter as Joe Hardy, Gwen Verson as Lola, and Ray Walston as Applegate. Bob Fosse recreated his Broadway choreography and appeared in the film.

In 1967, a TV movie adaptation, directed by Kirk Browning, starred Ray Middleton as Joe Boyd, Lee Remick as Lola, and Phil Silvers as Applegate.

A contemporary film adaptation starring Jim Carrey and Jake Gyllenhaal was reported to be in the works in 2009, but the project didn’t develop further.

Learn more fun facts about Damn Yankees and its history, from an elite athlete who’s inspiring a starring role to a behind-the-scenes first to a name trade.

• Major League Baseball is a producing partner for this production — a first for the organization.
• Doug Wright and Will Power worked on and off for five years on their revised story for the show. It took extra innings to address baseball’s racial inequities and deepen Lola’s motivations.
• March 24, 2027, the date of the revival’s first performance, is also opening day of the MLB’s new season. Talk about a double header!
• In the U.K., the film title was swapped out for What Lola Wants thanks to taste sensitivities at the time.
• Austin Scott has said his portrayal of fictional baseball star Joe Hardy is inspired by real-life Yankees superstar Aaron Judge.

Get Damn Yankees tickets on New York Theatre Guide. Between the stellar cast, iconic songs, dancing, and an ageless story, it’s set to be a grand slam of a show.