If you think that edgy, slinky, show-biz dancing started with "Chicago," go to the Muny this week and brace yourself for a thrill.

The 1955 hit "Damn Yankees" was one of the first Broadway shows choreographed by Bob Fosse, who would go on to "Cabaret," "Chicago" and much, much more. For the new Muny production of "Damn Yankees," Mary MacLeod reproduces the original Fosse choreography.

It's astonishing to see how, this early in his career, Fosse's distinctive style had already emerged - as recognizable as a stop sign and just as commanding. In this story of a middle-aged Washington Senators' fan who sells his soul to the devil for a new young body that can lead his team to the pennant, four numbers stand out.

There's the delightful "baseball ballet" to "Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, MO," in which a female sportswriter (Leslie Kritzer) and the uniform-clad Senators (the male ensemble) exult at the promise the new recruit brings them. It's a joyous dance, athletic and comic and eager to free itself of every gentlemanly dance convention you can think of.

The stunning blonde Angie L. Schworer sizzles through "Whatever Lola Wants," a number Fosse created for Gwen Verdon, the brilliant dancer he later married. Schworer and Alex Sanchez deliver more heat in "Who's Got the Pain?," a mambo that lets Fosse explore sexuality - one of his major preoccupations - without sacrificing style. In fact, it's all style, from the dancers' smashed-down hats to their artfully broken leaps.

Finally we come to the big number, "Two Lost Souls." Joe, who sold his soul for athletic prowess, and Lola, who sold hers for beauty and now has to work for the devil, find their way to a dive where the air is smoky, the music is jazzy and everybody dances like a broken doll. Led by Schworer and Eric Kunze, a charmer who plays Joe after his transformation, the whole ensemble might as well be branded with Fosse's initials. It couldn't be anyone else's work.

Schworer and Kunze are both favorites with Muny audiences. So is Lewis J. Stadlen. He plays the devil - known in this Richard Adler/Jerry Ross show as Applegate - as a shrewd sophisticate, and his recollection of disasters through the ages, "Those Were The Good Old Days," is a hoot.

In fact, Paul Blake, the theater's executive producer and the director of this production, crams the stage with familiar faces. Walter Charles, who's starred in Muny productions of "South Pacific" and "Annie," plays the mature Joe, not a large role but a key one. Thanks to Charles' rich voice, even Joe's sappy farewell to his wife (Linda Muggleston), "Goodbye, Old Girl," sounds fresh.

Francis Jue, the Muny's Peter Pan and King of Siam, is one of the baseball players. Lee Roy Reams, in his 21st Muny turn, brings an air of bonhomie to the team's manager, especially when he leads the players in "Heart." The cast also includes such Muny regulars as Zoe Vonder Haar, Lynn Humphrey, John Contini, James Anthony, John Freimann and Aaron Kaburick.

To make things even homier, Mike Shannon is (invisibly) on hand as the baseball announcer. Too bad they didn't tinker with the script just a little, to give him a few "Shannonisms" and give St. Louis theatergoers an inside joke.

Despite pulses of lightning and occasional drizzles, the opening night show never had to stop. With so many old friends on stage in a very familiar vehicle, Blake establishes a welcoming tone for the audience - and for the enduring artistry of Bob Fosse.