Neil Patrick Harris to Star in First Broadway 'Damn Yankees' Revival in 30 Years

Neil Patrick Harris will play the devil next spring on Broadway. The Tony winner stars as Applegate, the devil in disguise, in a revival of "Damn Yankees" opposite Julianne Hough, who makes her Broadway debut as Lola. It is the first Broadway revival of the musical in more than 30 years.

Previews begin March 24 at the Marquis Theatre, with opening night set for April 20. Austin Scott plays Young Joe. The rest of the cast has yet to be announced.

The production transfers to Broadway following a run last fall at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. This revised version features a book by Will Power and Doug Wright, additional lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and direction and choreography by Sergio Trujillo.

"'Damn Yankees' has always been one of our great American musicals, but I wasn't interested in simply reviving it," says Trujillo. "This 'revisal' preserves the heart, wit and soaring score that audiences love and is a real opportunity to bring joy back into the theater. 'Damn Yankees' is a celebration of America, and I hope audiences see themselves in it and remind them of the magic that only a great American musical can deliver. Let's play ball!"

The revival updates the original 1950s setting to the 21st century. The official logline reads: "It's the early 2000s, and diehard baseball fan Joe Boyd dreams of seeing his beloved Baltimore Orioles return to glory. So when a charming stranger and his captivating accomplice arrive with an offer too good to refuse, Joe makes a deal that could give both him and his team a second chance. There's just one catch…"

The original "Damn Yankees" — the Faustian tale of a middle-aged man who sells his soul so his losing team can beat the unstoppable New York Yankees — debuted on Broadway in 1955 with Robert Shafer, Gwen Verdon, Ray Walston and Stephen Douglass. It won seven Tony Awards, including best musical. Richard Adler and Jerry Ross wrote the music and lyrics, with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop. The show's last Broadway revival came in 1993, starring Jarrod Emick, Bebe Neuwirth and Victor Garber.

Harris won a Tony for the 2014 revival of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" and has hosted the Tony Awards several times. He was recently on Broadway in "Art," starring alongside James Corden and Bobby Cannavale. But a full-scale musical, he said, is new territory.

"I've never done the big Broadway musical, with a big ensemble and dance numbers. It's been a bucket list for me," Harris said during a press conference on Sunday at Yankees Stadium. Of his character, he added, "Playing someone who is devilish is always good. It's fun to be naughty. I want Applegate to be as alluring and puppet-mastery as possible."

In a first for Broadway, Major League Baseball and its production label MLB Studios will serve as a partner on the production.

"Baseball is mythology. Broadway is mythology. They both deliver thrilling, unrepeatable live entertainment to millions of fans each year," said Haley Swindal, who serves as lead producer with Lia Vollack, whose credits include "MJ." "Bringing them together — with MLB at the table and this extraordinary creative team — isn't just a revival. It's a collision of American icons."

Swindal is the granddaughter of legendary New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Nicknamed "The Boss," Steinbrenner was also a Broadway producer who invested in six productions, including the 1970 Tony Award-winner "Applause" and the 1974 musical "Seesaw."

Noah Garden, MLB's deputy commissioner of business and media, framed the partnership in cultural terms. "We're thrilled to partner with the entire team on the return of 'Damn Yankees' to Broadway, led by such great talents in Neil, Julianne and Austin," he said. "It's incredibly important that our game continues to resonate outside the diamond and into different areas of culture. Baseball and Broadway fans both love high drama, high stakes and high hopes that they're about to watch something unforgettable happen. 'Damn Yankees' celebrates that shared spirit, and we're proud to help bring that energy to the stage."

With MLB Studios at the table, a revised book moving the story to the early 2000s and a Hollywood-toned leading cast, this "Damn Yankees" arrives as a test of whether a 70-year-old baseball musical can speak to a new century of Broadway audiences.