Neil Patrick Harris, Julianne Hough to star in 'Damn Yankees'

Just in time for baseball season, the classic musical "Damn Yankees" will return to Broadway this spring with Neil Patrick Harris starring as the devilish Mr. Applegate and Julianne Hough as Lola, the sexy siren with more than a little brains and a little talent.

The two performers — along with Austin Scott who'll play Joe Hardy, the ordinary Joe who makes a deal with the Devil to help his hometown baseball team defeat the Yankees — announced the show Sunday at Yankee Stadium. Previews are set to begin March 24 at the Marquis Theatre with the opening set for April 20. Tickets are on sale at damnyankeesbroadway.com.

The new production marks the first Broadway revival of "Damn Yankees" in more than 30 years, when Victor Garber played Applegate and Bebe Neuwirth was Lola in 1994. The original production, which opened in 1955 and ran for two years, starred Ray Walston and Gwen Verdon in those roles. It ended up winning seven Tony Awards, including best musical and acting honors for the two leads.

The show, which features such classic numbers as "Heart" and "Whatever Lola Wants," has also been a staple of Long Island theater. NFL great Joe Namath starred as Joe Hardy in the production at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh in 1981. André de Shields played Applegate when the John W. Engeman Theater in Northport did the musical in 2010.