Westie's Woodall Starred in Dazzling 'Damn Yankees' on Catholic Memorial Stage

Editor's note: The following is a press release.

senior , of West Roxbury, starred as Joe Hardy in the CM musical production of “Damn Yankees” on April 11. The veteran crooner commanded the stage in a superlative performance and gave a packed house in the Perry Gym plenty to remember.

Directed by fine arts chair Craig Spaner, the musical told the story of a man who sells his soul to the devil to “see those damnYankees lose.” In becoming an ace slugger for the Washington Senator, Hardy must struggle between his loyalty to team versus his loyalty to family as he sees his goal come to fruition.

Joining Woodall on stage were a motley crew of comic characters, including Chris Traynor as Applegate, Andy Rogantino as Van Buren and an able chorus line of teammates who filled the auditorium with rollicking tunes. Devin Williams-Agyeman, John Tonderys, and Darryl Dorsainvil of West Roxbury were in that chorus, as was Anthony Castellano of Roslindale.

Starring in the girls’ roles in the lineup were Emma Bergman (Acton '16) as Gloria, Lauren Sabbag (Thayer '14) as Lola, and Phionna-Cayola Claude (Mt. Alvernia '14) as Meg. Catie Chipman (Ursuline '12) and Barbara Woodall (Southfield '15) also contributed their talents to the musical to produce a memorable night of Yankee-hating fun. 

"I couldn't have been more pleased with what they did," said Spaner of the cast. "It was really a stupendous job. They had great camarederie and they were a bunch of really good kids. They brought to life everything this show embodies - the characters,the family, and the triumph of good over evil. Like the musical says, they had such heart. It's a cliché, but it's so true. It was a tremendous job all around." 

Spaner thanked choreographer Meaghan Cells and set designer and fix it-man-in-residence Br. Kirk Phelps. "There was a sparkle on stage when the kids got up there tonight, and I just knew from the beginning, this was going to be something special," he said.