How MLB Ended Up Backing Broadway’s ‘Damn Yankees’ Revival

Broadway and the big leagues are officially teaming up to bring audiences a home run.

When the classic musical Damn Yankees returns for its first major New York revival in over 30 years, it won’t just be a standard theatrical staging; it will be an official collaboration with Major League Baseball.

The partnership came together through a convergence of sports and stage producing teams, which was spearheaded by lead producer Haley Swindal. As the granddaughter of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, Swindal recognized that both professional baseball and live theater are similar in that they provide unscripted live entertainment to their fans. By bringing MLB and its content arm, MLB Studios, directly to the table as official producing partners, the team secured the first time the league has ever formally backed a Broadway show.

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The show, which opens next year with previews beginning March 24, 2027 at the Marquis Theatre in New York, also blends sports culture with major TV star power. The production stars Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor Neil Patrick Harris as the smooth-talking Applegate, Dancing With the Stars darling Julianne Hough in her Broadway debut as the seductive siren Lola, and A Jazzman’s Blues star Austin Scott as baseball hopeful Joe Hardy.

The revival centers on a stressed, middle-aged fan who makes a deal with the devil with Applegate to trade his soul so he can be transformed into young slugger Joe Hardy to help his struggling favorite team dethrone the champions. It is directed by Sergio Trujillo, who is also in charge of the choreography, with the adaptation written by Will Power and Doug Wright.

In this version, the show updates the aesthetic and timeline. While the original Broadway show was set in the 1950s, this one takes place in 2000 after the New York Yankees won three consecutive World Series championships. The updated story swaps the Washington Senators out for the Baltimore Orioles to create a contemporary, diverse American backdrop that raises the stakes for the team.

By combining official league support with a setting that takes place in the 2000s along with a cast pulled directly from the silver screen, the revival is looking to prove that theater and baseball are the ultimate teammates.