DAMES AT SEA is a tap-happy celebration of the golden era of movie musicals with a heart as big as the ocean! Directed and choreographed by the three-time Tony Award-nominated choreographer Randy Skinner (42nd Street, Irving Berlin's White Christmas), this gem of a show has been reimagined for the bright lights of Broadway and taken to glamorous and spectacular new heights! Featuring rollicking tap dancing, love at first sight, joyful music and a boatload of laughs, this glittering musical extravaganza has everything you need for an unforgettable night at the theatre.
Dames at Sea was launched in 1966 at the downtown coffeehouse Caffe Cino, where its affectionate send-up of 1930s movie musicals tapped -- or, rather, tap-danced -- into nostalgia for the busily silly spectacles of yesteryear. Now it's on Broadway, where it lands like a harmless piece of wet fluff. The first 20 minutes of wide-eyed antics are cute; then your mind starts to wander. Dames at Sea's mild pastiche...is passable but passé -- imagine a revival, half a century from now, of a Fringe show about the '80s -- and it's presented with tongue so far in cheek that it can't say much at all. The cast of six works hard to sell it, though...Director-choreographer Randy Skinner gives them furiously fast tap numbers to perform, as though they were pumping invisible air pedals to keep the show from deflating. In the end, no such luck: pfffffft.
In a mind-boggling move, the show (which has not aged all that well) is being revived on Broadway, where it is uncomfortably out of place...The score has a few hummable melodies, but it's hardly top-drawer work. The jokes, which were intended for a gentler sensibility and an audience that was familiar with the 1930s films being evoked, land flat, as do all the references to celebrities from the period. Staged by director-choreographer Randy Skinner with lots of pep but little personality, the hardworking six-member cast tries to overcome the lackluster material by aggressively playing up the campiness, to the point of relentless irritation.
1968 | Off-Broadway |
Original Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
1969 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
1969 | West End |
London Production West End |
1970 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway Revival Off-Broadway |
1970 | Regional (US) |
Regional Revival Regional (US) |
1973 | Milburn, NJ (Regional) |
Paper Mill Production Milburn, NJ (Regional) |
1985 | Regional (US) |
Regional Revival Regional (US) |
1985 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway Revival Off-Broadway |
1996 | West End |
London Revival West End |
2004 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway Revival Off-Broadway |
2015 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Randy Skinner |
2016 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | Dames at Sea |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Randy Skinner |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical (Broadway or off-Broadway) | Dames at Sea |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Choreography | Randy Skinner |
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