THE HANGOVER REPORT – You will love me, or DAMES AT SEA on Broadway

IMG_4292In this crowded Broadway season, I doubt you’ll find another show that’s as willfully old fashioned as the peppy revival of Jim Wise, George Haimsohn, and Robin Miller’s Dames at Sea which recently opened at the Helen Hayes Theatre. Every last last detail of director and choreographer Randy Skinner’s camped-up production shouts “look at us, things were better in the good old days!” – almost as if this 1930s-set (the show was written in 1966) let’s-put-on-a-show-at-sea musical (think 42nd Street meets Anything Goes) needed convincing itself. Although much of the show is pleasantly diverting, particularly its lively pastiche score as orchestrated by the legendary Jonathan Tunick, this insistence grows somewhat wearisome by the end of the evening.

You can’t fault the dynamite cast of five who are directed to hoof and belt with abandon up on the boards of the Hayes. Each one of them – John Bolton, Danny Gardner, Mara Davi, Cary Tedder, and Eloise Kropp – bring quirky individuality to their roles that charmed me within the context of the musical’s world. I was particularly taken by Ms. Kropp in the ingenue part that originally put Bernadette Peters on the map; I found her big-eyed, effervescent presence to be a genuine balm to the campy production around her.

Randy Skinner’s mission here is no small one; he is tasked with expanding this small Off-Broadway musical to fill a large Broadway stage (the attractive upgraded sets are by Anna Louizos) with only a cast of five. Indeed, Mr. Skinner’s valiant effort has yielded some nifty choreographed production numbers. The end result, however, pushes just a little too hard and lacks the effortlessness needed for this kind of musical to truly fly.

RECOMMENDED

 

DAMES AT SEA
Broadway, Musical
Helen Hayes Theatre
2 hours, 10 minutes (with one intermission)
Open-ended run

 

Categories: Broadway, Theater

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