by George Abbott & Douglass Wallop
Music and Lyrics by Richard Adler & Jerry Ross
Directed by Nadia Bodie-Smith
A middle-aged, middle-class, baseball fanatic Joe Boyd would do anything to help his favorite team win the World Series. He is even willing to sell his soul to the Devil so that his team, the Washington Senators, could beat any team, including the World Champion New York Yankees.
So, Joe sells his soul to Mr. Applegate, who is really the Devil, for the chance to be young again and play baseball with the Senators. With the deal made, Joe leaves his home and wife, Meg, and transforms into the highly talented and equally successful young Joe Hardy from Hannibal, Missouri. He returns to his own house even though his wife, Meg, doesnot recognize him.
Luckily for Joe, his contract with Mr. Applegate has a technicality, an escape clause. The clausen says that Joe can return to his old self and save his soul up to 9 p.m. on September 24, the day before the end of the baseball season. Although Mr. Applegate tries to put every obstacle in his way including the sexual advances of Lola, Joe helps his team to win the Championship. At the last minute, Joe refers to the escape clause and he transforms back to his former elder self and returns to his wife a wiser and happier man.
