''Dames at Sea'' is a 1966

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

with book and lyrics by

George Haimsohn George Haimsohn (June 12, 1925 – January 17, 2003) was an American writer and photographer. He was best known for co-writing the book and libretto of the popular 1960s Off-Broadway musical ''Dames at'' Sea. He produced male nude and "physiqu ...

and Robin Miller and music by Jim Wise. The musical is a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

of large, flashy 1930s

Busby Berkeley Busby Berkeley (born Berkeley William Enos; November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berke ...

-style movie musicals in which a chorus girl, newly arrived off the bus from the Midwest to New York City, steps into a role on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and becomes a star. It originally played

Off-Off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...

in 1966 at the

Caffe Cino Caffe Cino was an Off-Off-Broadway theater founded in 1958 by Joe Cino. The West Village coffeehouse, located at 31 Cornelia Street, was initially conceived as a venue for poetry, folk music, and visual art exhibitions. The plays produced at ...

and then played

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

, starring newcomer

Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress, singer, and children's book author. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo co ...

, beginning in 1968 for a successful run. The show has enjoyed a London run, a television adaptation and a number of revivals, before its Broadway premiere in October 2015.

Production history

The musical was originally a short sketch,Klein, Alvin
"Theater; Not So Good: Goodspeed Revives A Revival"
''The New York Times'' (webcache.googleusercontent.com), May 26, 2002 based loosely on the '' Gold Diggers'' movies, written by George Haimsohn, Jim Wise, and Robin Miller. The character of "Ruby" was suggested by the

Ruby Keeler Ethel Ruby Keeler (August 25, 1909 – February 28, 1993) was an American actress, dancer, and singer who was paired on-screen with Dick Powell in a string of successful early musicals at Warner Bros., particularly '' 42nd Street'' (1933). From ...

-type from those early movies. It was lengthened to a 50-minute production, and director Robert Dahdah prepared it for its first staging. After the original actress who was to play "Ruby" withdrew during rehearsals,

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who c ...

Don Price recommended newcomer

for the role. The show opened in May 1966 as ''Dames at Sea, or Golddiggers Afloat'' at the

, a small coffee house/performance space in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, where it continued for 148 performances. The original Caffe Cino cast featured Peters as Ruby, Joe McGuire as Frank, David Christmas as Dick, Jill Roberts as Joan, Norma Bigtree as Mona and Gary Filsinger as the Director and Captain. Peters was replaced by her sister, Donna Forbes (now DeSeta) during the run. Retitled simply ''Dames at Sea'', the musical re-opened at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre on December 20, 1968, and transferred to the larger Theater de Lys on April 22, 1969, and closed on May 10, 1970 after a total of 575 performances." 'Dames At Sea' Listing"
Internet Off-Broadway Database, accessed August 20, 2013 Directed and choreographed by Neal Kenyon, the show again featured Peters in the role of Ruby and David Christmas as Dick. The cast also featured Steve Elmore as the Captain, Tamara Long as Mona Kent, Joseph R. Sicari as Lucky, and Sally Stark as Joan. After Peters left the show, the role of "Ruby" was played by Loni Ackerman,

Bonnie Franklin Bonnie Gail Franklin (January 6, 1944 – March 1, 2013) was an American actress, known for her leading role as Ann Romano in the television series '' One Day at a Time'' (1975–1984). She was nominated for Emmy, Tony, and Golden Globe Awards ...

, Janie Sell,

Barbara Sharma Barbara Sharma (born September 14, 1938, Dallas) is an American actress and dancer of the night clubs, stage, television, and film. She began dancing at age 4 and professionally at age 9, dancing in nightclubs in Miami and Havana, Cuba. As a dance ...

, and Pia Zadora.Jones, Kenneth
"George Haimsohn, Co-Writer of 'Dames at Sea', Dead at 77"
Playbill, January 25, 2003 On August 27, 1969, the show opened at

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Duchess Theatre The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest West End theatres with a proscenium arch. It has 494 sea ...

, where it ran for 127 performances. The West End production was filmed for the television program ''

Theatre Date ''Theatre Date'' was a British anthology television series that aired on BBC1 in 1969. The series aired televised broadcasts of current plays from London's West End. A total of five broadcasts were made in the series. These included: William Dou ...

'', and was broadcast on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

on November 4, 1969. Peters appeared in a regional production at the

Paper Mill Playhouse Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey on the Rahway River. Due to its relatively close location to Manhattan, it draws from the pool of actors (and audience members) who live i ...

Millburn, New Jersey Millburn is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 20,149, reflecting an increase of 384 (+1.9%) from the 19,765 counted in the 2000 Census, which had ...

in early 1973. In July 1973, Peters appeared again as Ruby at the Academy Playhouse, Lake Forest, Illinois. Subsequent revivals have been staged at the

Lamb's Theatre Lamb's Theatre was an Off-Broadway theater located at 130 West 44th Street, Manhattan, New York City inside the Manhattan Church of the Nazarene, near Times Square in New York City. It seated approximately 350 and specialized in musical productio ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

(1985) (with Stephen Flaherty playing the piano), the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester, London (1989), and at the theater where the musical first played off-Broadway, the Bouwerie Lane Theatre, produced by Jean Cocteau Repertory and directed by David Fuller, from September 3, 2004 to November 28, 2004.Sommers, Elys
"Review. 'Dames at Sea' "
curtainup.com, September 2004 The show began previews on

on September 24, 2015, and officially opened on October 22 at the

Helen Hayes Theatre The Hayes Theater (formerly the Little Theatre, New York Times Hall, Winthrop Ames Theatre, and Helen Hayes Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 240 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Named for actres ...

, with direction and choreography by

Randy Skinner Randy Skinner is an American dancer, director and choreographer, primarily for the stage. He has been nominated four times for Tony Awards, three times for Drama Desk Awards, and four times for Outer Critics Circle Awards for choreography. Early ...

.Staff
"The Verdict: Read Reviews of 'Dames at Sea' Starring Lesli Margherita, Eloise Kropp and Mara Davi"
Playbill, October 22, 2015Gans, Andrew
"'Dames at Sea' Taps Its Way Onto Broadway Tonight"
Playbill, September 24, 2015 A workshop for this production was held in January 2014 with Laura Osnes, Rachel York,

Mara Davi Mara Davi (born January 22, 1984, Alameda County, California) is an American actress, singer, and dancer; she made her Broadway debut as Maggie Winslow in the 2006 revival of ''A Chorus Line''. Biography Mara Davi grew up in Highlands Ranch, Col ...

, John Bolton, Cary Tedder, and Danny Gardner. The Broadway cast featured

John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Sta ...

as The Captain/Hennesey, Mara Davi as Joan, Danny Gardner as Lucky, Eloise Kropp as Ruby,

Lesli Margherita Lesli Margherita is an American stage and screen actress. She is best known for originating the roles of Inez in the musical ''Zorro,'' for which she won a Laurence Olivier Award, and Mrs. Wormwood in the Broadway cast of '' Matilda the Musical'' ...

as Mona Kent and Cary Tedder as Dick. The show is described as "a tap-happy gem of a show that celebrates the golden era of movie musicals". Among the producers are Infinity Theatre Company and Perry Street Theatricals. The show was produced in 2012 by Infinity Theatre Company, Annapolis, Maryland with direction and choreography by Randy Skinner. This production closed on January 3, 2016 after 85 performances and 32 previews. The musical is popular for schools and has been produced in many countries.

Plot

In the early 1930s, a Broadway musical is in rehearsal. Mona Kent is its temperamental diva star, Joan a wise-cracking chorus girl, and Hennesy the producer/manager/director. The naive Ruby arrives from

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

, with "nothing but tap shoes in her suitcase and a prayer in her heart",Kerr, Walter. ''The New York Times'', January 5, 1969, p. D1 determined to be a Broadway star. She promptly faints into the arms of Dick, a sailor and aspiring songwriter ("It's You"). Ruby gets a job in the chorus, but Hennesy informs the cast that the theater must be torn down, and they must find another place, which turns out to be a ship, for the show. Joan and Lucky, another sailor and her former boyfriend, renew their romance ("Choo-Choo Honeymoon") while Ruby admits her feelings for Dick ("The Sailor of My Dreams"). Dick and Lucky persuade their Captain to volunteer the use of their ship ("Dames at Sea"). Mona recognizes the Captain as a former boyfriend ("The Beguine"). When Mona kisses Dick, to persuade him to give her one of his songs, Ruby notices and becomes despondent ("Raining In My Heart"). Dick explains the misunderstanding and the couple make up ("There's Something About You"). While rehearsing on the actual ship, Mona becomes seasick ("The Echo Waltz"); Ruby steps in to save the show and becomes a star ("Star Tar"). The three couples decide to marry ("Let's Have A Simple Wedding").

Other elements

John Wilson in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' pointed out that the music is a mixture of parody, such as the torch song "That Mister Man", pastiche ("Raining in My Heart"), and the real thing. Wilson wrote that "The pastiche songs, built around phrases borrowed from or close to actual songs of the genre, usually project an appealing period flavor." The joke was that, while spoofing the large, lavish movie musicals, ''Dames at Sea'' did it with a cast of six, two pianos and percussion, and a tiny stage. In the 2015 Broadway production, director

noted that this was "the first time in New York that 'Dames at Sea' will be heard with an orchestra, and the show will have more dancing than ever before with all new dance and vocal arrangements by Rob Berman". This production opened with movie credits projected onto a screen, reproducing exactly the font used by Warner Bros. in the early 1930s. Skinner received a 2016 Tony Award nomination for his choreography.

Musical numbers

;Act I * "Overture" * "Wall Street" - Mona * "It's You" - Dick and Ruby * "Broadway Baby" - Dick * "That Mister Man Of Mine" - Mona and Company * "Choo-Choo Honeymoon" - Joan and Lucky * "The Sailor of My Dreams" - Ruby * "Singapore Sue" - Lucky and Company * "Broadway Baby" (reprise) - Hennesey * "Good Times Are Here To Stay" - Mona, Joan and Company ;Act II * "Dames At Sea" - Company * "The Beguine" - Mona and Captain * "Raining In My Heart" - Ruby and Company * "There's Something About You" - Dick and Ruby * "Raining In My Heart" (reprise) - Ruby * "The Echo Waltz" - Mona, Joan, Ruby and Company * "Star Tar" - Ruby and Company * "Let's Have A Simple Wedding" - Company

Major Casts

''*''In this production, Lucky was called "Frank".

Critical response

In his review in ''

'' of the 1968 production,

Clive Barnes Clive Alexander Barnes (13 May 1927 – 19 November 2008) was an English writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977, he was the dance and theater critic for ''The New York Times'', and, from 1978 until his death, '' The New York Post.'' Barnes had sig ...

wrote Dames At Sea' is a real winner, a little gem of a musical. The show is wonderfully helped by its cast. The star I suppose is Bernadette Peters as the wholly sweetly silly small-town chorine who taps her way from the bus station to stardom in 24 hours."

Walter Kerr Walter Francis Kerr (July 8, 1913 – October 9, 1996) was an American writer and Broadway theatre critic. He also was the writer, lyricist, and/or director of several Broadway plays and musicals as well as the author of several books, genera ...

, in his ''Sunday Times'' feature article, added "You'll find the show cheerful and ingratiating, I think ... Miss Peters is a real find ... She is extremely funny, and endearing on top of that." The ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' magazine review noted that the show had "three thoroughly engaging stars and some of the most ingenious staging currently on or off Broadway. Tamara Long, as the slinky heavy, brandishes a flaming Morganitic torch for her Mister Man, and Sally Stark, as Ruby's peroxided pal, belts a note almost as plangent as the great Merman's. The comic delight of the show, though, is Bernadette Peters, whose Ruby can simultaneously sing and dance up a storm that puts all New York (including Queen Mane of Rumania) at her feet." The review of the production at the Off-Broadway Bouwerie Lane Theatre (2004) in the ''Gay City News'':

Director David Fuller has filled his production with such subtle touches, which make the show seem intriguingly contemporary, and far from the saccharine and serious treatments this chestnut usually receives, he's restored the true Off-Broadway spirit that used the establishment's own forms to tweak its foibles. First staged during the Vietnam War era, the musical seems more relevant than ever as it takes precise aim at the sunny outlook that comes from near-psychotic denial of reality.

The review praises the cast: "The cast does a great job ... Individually, Kathleen White as Ruby is deliciously comic, with expressions and physical comedies that recall Lucille Ball ... Chrysten Peddie as Joan has the tough dame attitude down cold. She's got a warm presence, is a great dancer and has a strong voice." The ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' reviewer of the 2015 production wrote: "So why bring this trifle to Broadway, for the first time, 49 years after its downtown premiere? Never mind; just check your cares and pretensions at the door of the Helen Hayes Theatre, ... and prepare to be thoroughly charmed. Through it all, happily, Skinner keeps everyone dancing, providing exuberant tap routines that his cast executes with joyful facility."

Steven Suskin Steven Suskin is an American theater critic and historian of musical theater. He is a member emeritus of the New York Drama Critics' Circle The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wir ...

, in reviewing for the ''Huffington Post'' wrote: "The surprise, today, is that the show remains viable; this first Broadway production is impeccably staged and loaded with entertainment, and should delight its target audience ... The songs ... hit all the bases, reminding us of all those wonderful Harry Warren songs; but they are mostly lightweight pastiches, never quite as memorable as the real thing. The show--which was heretofore performed with two pianos and a drummer--is now fully orchestrated."

Television

An adaptation for television starred

Ann-Margret Ann-Margret Olsson (born April 28, 1941) is a Swedish–American actress, singer, and dancer. As an actress and singer, she is credited as Ann-Margret. She is known for her roles in '' Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), '' ...

as Ruby,

Ann Miller Ann Miller (born Johnnie Lucille Collier; April 12, 1923 – January 22, 2004) was an American retired actress and former dancer. She is best remembered for her work in the Classical Hollywood cinema musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Her early ...

as Mona, Anne Meara as Joan, Harvey Evans as Dick, Fred Gwynne as Hennesy and

Dick Shawn Dick Shawn (born Richard Schulefand, December 1, 1923 – April 17, 1987) was an American actor and comedian. He played a wide variety of supporting roles and was a prolific character actor. During the 1960s, he played small roles in madcap comed ...

as the Captain. It was broadcast on the Bell System Family Theater on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

on November 15, 1971. The cast had extra chorus girls and boys, and there were full production numbers, turning into the very thing it was spoofing. Ann Miller was singled out for praise, especially when "she was allowed to tap out her brassy impersonation of the temperamental star".

Recording

The original off-Broadway Cast Recording was released in 1969 by

Columbia Masterworks Records Columbia Masterworks was a record label started in 1924 by Columbia Records. In 1980, it was separated from the Columbia label and renamed CBS Masterworks. In 1990, it was revived as Sony Classical after its sale to the Sony Corporation. History ...

(Columbia OS 3330) and issued on CD by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

."Dames at Sea" on amazon.com
/ref> The Original London Cast Recording is also available on CD.

Awards and nominations

Original Off-Broadway production

Broadway

References

External links

* * {{ibdb title, 501154, Dames at Sea

* ttp://caffecino.wordpress.com/1913/01/01/let-the-dames-begin/ Robert Patrick's ''Dames at Sea'' Page 1966 musicals Broadway musicals Off-Broadway musicals West End musicals