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.
Rather than comment on the quirks or shortcomings of their models, [the songs] merely copy them, in presumably deliberate and definitely third-rate imitations...What once made this mediocre material work, if anything did, was the panicky contrast between the outsize ambition of the '30s originals and the downsized reality of the spit-and-cardboard tribute...The camp, in other words, was genuine. And while it's lovely to hear the score orchestrated (by Jonathan Tunick, no less) for eight instruments instead of two pianos and a drum set, the material's internal wiring gets tangled when mounted at the scale -- and with the bland polish -- of Randy Skinner's Broadway production...Not to pile on, but I was surprised to find most of the dancing, and for that matter the performances in general, so ineloquent...Camp, it turns out, can't be faked; without deprivation and desperation, there is no wit.
'Dames at Sea' is a technicolor, tap dance-filled tribute to the movie musicals of the 1930s. It's delightful, and it doesn't take itself seriously for a minute...After an evening with the 'Dames' ensemble of dancers and singers, directed and choreographed by Encores! vet Randy Skinner -- he also worked on the 2001 revival of '42nd Street' -- you will surely agree. It works...'Dames at Sea' opens with Margherita in a flashy, affectionate and snark-free tribute to Wall Street. With that as a bar, it falls to Margherita to set a tone of ironic distance to everything that comes after...Six actors do all the work. 'Dames at Sea' is a small-scale musical, crammed into Broadway's teensiest theater, but with the gumption of a mighty battleship.
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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