Keeping with sports, with a twist

Johnny Pontarelli, 18, of Elk Grove Village played a key role when Conant High School's volleyball team earned the regional championship this year.

But on Friday he will step up to the plate in a different venue: as a baseball player in Schaumburg Summer Theatre's production of "Damn Yankees."

Not just any old player, mind you, but the longball hitting phenom Joe Hardy, who will finally lead the long-suffering Washington Senators to the pennant.

"I'm a Cubs fan, so I know exactly how it is," quips Pontarelli, who is appearing in only his second musical, after concentrating most of his high school years on sports.

Pontarelli and a cast of more than 40 high school and college students bring new energy to the play that first opened on Broadway in 1955, with its memorable songs, "Whatever Lola Wants," "Heart," and "Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo."

Damn Yankees opens at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and continues at 8 p.m. on Aug. 1 and 2 at Schaumburg's Prairie Center for the Arts, 201 Schaumburg Court.

Its cast members come from across the Northwest suburbs, including Arlington Heights, Addison, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Hanover Park, Highland Park, Hoffman Estates, Itasca, Mount Prospect, Roselle, Schaumburg and West Chicago.

Like Pontarelli, many of the principals are new to the Schaumburg Summer Theatre series, including Joe Bianco as the devilish Mr. Applegate, and Sarah Brannan, as Joe Hardy's deserted wife, both of Elk Grove Village.

"I never really thought of myself as singing and dancing on stage before," Pontarelli adds, "but we've been working so hard, and we're having so much fun, that I feel well prepared when I'm out there."

Only Amy Sutton of Algonquin returns as the show's veteran principal. She played Laurie, in last summer's "Oklahoma!" and before that she had the lead in "Bells Are Ringing."

Pileckis serves as the Prairie Center's production supervisor, where he does everything from produce its student film festival and manage the Schaumburg Youth Symphony to write its murder mystery theater every other year.

But during the summer months he returns to his roots in musical theater, directing young actors in classic musicals.

This year is a special milestone, since it is the Schaumburg Summer Theatre's 20th season, and Pileckis has directed all 20 shows.

"The Prairie Center has always had a focus on providing performing arts opportunities for young people," Pileckis says, "and the Schaumburg Summer Theatre is one of those experiences."

Ironically, he adds, the center mounted "Damn Yankees" for its 10th anniversary season, but this year they have even more reason to stage the show, with the heightened interest in baseball across the Chicago area.

"We selected the show back in March, so we had no idea any of this would happen," Pileckis says. "It's our hope that with all of the excitement and interest in baseball, and with the players themselves being celebrities, that it will generate a little more interest in a baseball-themed show."

If you go

What: "Damn Yankees" by Schaumburg Summer Theatre

Where: Schaumburg's Prairie Center for the Arts, 201 Schaumburg Court, Schaumburg

When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 8 p.m. Aug. 1 and 2

Cost: $18 for adults and $16 for students and seniors

Call: (847) 895-3600 or visit www.prairiecenter.org