From the C-T...
--BG
‘Dames at Sea’ features super singing and dancing at Flat Rock
by Tim Reid, Take5 correspondent
published May 2, 2008 12:15 am
A small cast produces a large sound in Flat Rock Playhouse’s charming musical “Dames at Sea” about the proverbial small-town girl making it big in the Big Apple.
Director Amy Elizabeth Jones has assembled a powerhouse cast of talented actors who sing and dance their way through high-energy tunes that stir the emotions as well as adrenaline.
Lisa K. Bryant is marvelous as Ruby, a naive ingénue from a small town in Utah who arrives in New York in the 1930s with dreams of becoming a Broadway star.
When Ruby turns up at a rehearsal for a new musical, a tender-hearted cast member Joan (Wendy Hayes) wrangles her a spot in the chorus line while coaching her new friend on how hard life is in the big city.
Ruby gets a taste of that when the show’s star, temperamental diva Mona Kent (Marcy McGuigan), takes an instant dislike to her.
But Ruby also makes a new friend in a young sailor Dick (Freddie Kimmel), an aspiring songwriter who coincidentally is from the small town in Utah where Ruby grew up.
When the new musical’s opening is suddenly disrupted by news that the theater is to be torn down, Dick and his fellow sailor Lucky (Matthew Schneider) propose that the musical open on the deck of their nearby battleship.
The only obstacle is convincing the captain (Carl J. Danielsen) to let the ship be used for such a purpose.
It turns out that’s not a problem as the captain is a former boyfriend of Mona Kent. The diva only has to remind him of their past passions and he is willing and eager.
In true storybook fashion the temperamental diva gets her comeuppance and Ruby gets her chance at stardom. And, of course, love triumphs.
George Wilkins Jr., Paul Babelay and Charles Holland perform Jim Wise’s unforgettable music that propels this simple story into a perennial favorite.
“Dames” made Bernadette Peters a star when it debuted Off-Broadway in 1966 and has been delighting audiences ever since. Flat Rock’s production will please those who like a sweet story coupled with endearing tunes.
Tim Reid reviews theater for the Citizen-Times.
02 May 2008
Dames at Sea
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I don't want to be a spoilsport, but it seemed to me like this "Dames at Sea" missed the whole point of the show. I don't think the show was ever intended to be a straightforward musical, like, say Anything Goes. Instead, I think it was written as a bit of a self parody (the male leads are named "Dick" and "Lucky," for goodness sake! The fact that Ruby and Dick happen to be from the same town is exaggeratedly absurd, not, as Tim Reid called it, "coincidental!"). If played "straight," it falls flat, as, for me, it did at Flat Rock. It's just fine, as far as musicals go, but the music is not really strong enough to stand up as a straight musical, but if it is thought of as an homage to the great musicals of the 40's -- rather than as a recreation of them -- then it would be much more fun and much more engaging.
The best example might be the "Singapore Sue" number. In the 1940's a piece as offensive and racist as this song would have been pretty standard fare, only now seeming dated and cringe-worthy. But in order for a more modern musical to succeed with the same material, I think it must be recognized as offensive, and played fully in recognition of that fact. In that way, the irony of the lyrics would be made clear, and the piece would be an over-the-top comment on racial stereotypes (of both Asians and WWII era Americans), and as such, painfully and ironically funny. At Flat Rock, the piece was played as if it was actually a number from the 40's and as such, it was both dramatically flat and actually offensive.
I agree with Mr. Reid that most of the singing and dancing was good, and a couple of costumes were great (although a couple were questionable: why is the star always in the same outfit as the chorus girls?), but I think that to retain any sort of relevance in 2008, the play needs an awareness of the wonderful artifice in which it lives. Lacking that, a vapid character reads as a vapid actor, rather than a deliciously hammy performance that honors the musicals of the 40's by gently reminding us how far we've come.
Oh well.
Post a Comment