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Justin Kiska is already beginning to sound like the coach of a fabled sports team.

“This is the start of a big year,” Way Off Broadway’s managing director says about his company’s 2012 kickoff, “Damn Yankees,” opening Friday.

“The turnaround time between the Christmas production and our first show of the year is always quick,” Kiska laughs. “But here we’re jumping right into baseball season.”

Written by George Abbott and Douglas Wallop, and based on the latter’s book, “The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant,” the musical surrounds aging Washington Senators fan Joe Boyd, who strikes a deal with the devil in the best interests of his favorite ball team. Transformed into the winning “long-ball hitter” Joe Hardy, the hero soon leads the Senators to victory, but not before realizing that he left behind what is most important to him.

“It’s one of those classics,” Kiska says. “There was a movie at one point, and there have been rumblings about a remake. It’s always out there. It’s one of those big Broadway shows that everyone who loves drama has either seen or done. It’s the comfort food of theater.”

Way Off Broadway’s take, directed by Kiska’s father Bill, who also pinch-hits briefly on stage as the long-suffering Boyd, relies heavily on Broadway’s 1994 revival. That version, Kiska says, took steps not to modernize the original’s mid-1950s atmosphere, necessarily but to invigorate it while reintroducing the tale to a new generation of audiences.

“It’s funny, someone brought in an original playbill from the 1950s show, and the text reads, ‘In the not too distant future,’” Kiska laughs.

Still, he notes, what is more remarkable is how much some things stay the same. Case in point, in “Yankees,” the devilish Mr. Applegate leads the good-natured Joe Hardy into a sports scandal of sorts in hopes of propagating his downfall.

“And that’s all we ever hear about now in the news,” says Kiska. “So it’s a timeless show. It always seems to pop up again.”

It’s also a great showcase for actors, Kiska adds, who get to sink their teeth into an array of rich characters, whether the suave and sinister Applegate or his righteous antithesis, Joe Hardy.

Way Off Broadway newcomer Justin Mohay plays the home run hero. Born and raised in Fairfax, Va., Mohay attended Catholic University and has performed in the Washington, D.C., area for the last five years.This will be his first performance with Way Off Broadway, and his first turn at bat in “Damn Yankees.”

While familiar with the music, Mohay says he has yet to tune in to the 1958 film version.

“It’s neat to be able to go into a part and give it your own [twist],” he says. “If anything, I go back afterwards and look at how [our] performances differed.”

One element Mohay made certain to incorporate outside of his theatric pedigree, was his ability as a former baseball player a skill set that went a long way while pantomiming pitches and hits on stage. It was Hardy’s honesty, however, not his hubris, that attracted Mohay to the role.

“At the end of the day, he misses his wife and the life he had,” says the actor.

Such altruism is something Lola definitely does not want.

“She’s the devil’s seductive assistant,” explains actress Jaimie Hoover, who takes on the role originated by dancer Gwen Verdon both on Broadway and the silver screen. “She takes care of his cases, if you will.”

By “taking care of,” Hoover no doubt alludes to Lola’s lascivious means of teasing her prey into submission.

Hoover says the show is a favorite of her grandmother’s, who introduced her to the musical, and the Bob Fosse-trained Verdon.

Interestingly, Hoover previously portrayed lead Roxie Hart in Way Off Broadway’s staging of “Chicago,” yet another iconic role forged on the Great White Way by Verdon.

“There’s a six degrees of separation thing going on,” Hoover says. “She’s such a phenomenal actress and dancer. If I can just take pieces of what she did on stage and give that to the audience, I’ll be happy.”

That said, Hoover hopes glimpses of her own quirky nature shine through in her performance.

“I hope to bring that essence to Lola,” she says, noting that her demonic duet with frequent collaborator Jordan Stocksdale, as Applegate, has been a true highlight.

The song “Two Lost Souls” was originally a team-up between Lola and Hardy in the 1955 stage version, but, like Kiska says, things change.

“The old shows were constructed so you would have a scene, a blackout, a set change, another scene, another blackout, and so on. They were written with breaks,” Kiska says of the challenges inherent in bringing “Damn Yankees” to life.

The trick, he says, is to keep the show moving. The Way Off Broadway production is a hybrid of both classic musicals and newer Broadway fare, the latter of which are blocked scene to scene, largely eliminating the need for lengthy set changes or lugging furniture and props across a darkened stage.

But, dammit, this “Damn Yankees” still has to run the bases once or twice.

“It takes a few seconds to get an entire baseball field on stage,” he laughs.

noravec@gazette.net

‘Damn Yankees’

When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. first third and fifth Sundays and select weekday and Sunday performances, Jan. 13 through March 4 (doors open at 6 p.m. for evening shows, 12:30 p.m. for matinees)

Where: Way Off Broadway, 5 Willowdale Drive, Willowtree Plaza, Frederick

Tickets: $42-$46

For information: 301-662-6600 or www.wayoffbroadway.com

‘Damn Yankees’

When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. first third and fifth Sundays and select weekday and Sunday performances, Jan. 13 through March 4 (doors open at 6 p.m. for evening shows, 12:30 p.m. for matinees)

Where: Way Off Broadway, 5 Willowdale Drive, Willowtree Plaza, Frederick

Tickets: $42-$46

For information: 301-662-6600 or www.wayoffbroadway.com