THE DEVIL YOU KNOW

Choreographed by Bob Fosse and featuring the original Broadway cast, 1958’s Damn Yankees stars Tab Hunter as a middle-aged Washington Senators fan transformed into the young slugger Joe Hardy after trading his soul to the devil to help his team win the pennant. (Many of us wish we could do that, too, but we just watch Greinke and hold our breath.) When Joe reconsiders his escape clause, the devil (Ray Walston) enlists the seductress Lola (Gwen Verdon) to help Joe, um, keep his eye on the ball. Presented by UMKC’s Communication Studies Department and introduced by film professor Tom Poe, Damn Yankees screens tonight at 7 at Tivoli Cinemas (4050 Pennsylvania), whose Great American Musicals of the 1950s series continues with Stanley Donen’s Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (July 7) and Vincente Minnelli’s Gigi (July 14). Admission costs $3 (free for UMKC students and staff with ID). For more information, see tivolikc.com.

Tuesdays, 7 p.m. Starts: June 16. Continues through July 14, 2009