Dames at Sea
direction and choreography by Randy Skinner
book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller, music by Jim Wise.
music Supervision, vocal and dance arrangements by Rob Berman.
orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
presented by Infinity Theatre Co. - Anna Roberts Ostroff & Alan Ostroff, Martin Platt & David Elliott, Patricia M. Roberts & Bert C. Roberts, Carl Berg, Louise H. Beard, Julie Boardman / Sarahbeth Grossman and Douglas & Steven Maine/Chris & Dawn Ellisat the Helen Hayes Theatre, NYC
Dames at Sea is a joyful dance-filled celebration hearkening back to the golden era of movie musicals… A story of how dreams come true - Ruby steps off a bus in Manhattan, wanders into a theatre and lands a job right into her first Broadway show. Hours before the opening night curtain is to rise, the cast learns their theater has been sold and is being demolished. So Ruby and the cast, with the help of some adoring sailors, set a plan in motion to perform the show on the deck of a naval battleship docked in the harbor. Hilarity ensues as old lovers are reunited and the show is saved…
We teamed up with Alan and Anna to lead on this tap-happy musical that would be the final show to play at The Helen Hayes Theatre on Broadway. We were delighted to work once again with Randy Skinner, who had done the choreography for us on Lend Me A Tenor The Musical in London, and on a workshop in NYC of The Gershwin’s Tell Me More.
Randy would receive several nomination for his marvelous choreography, including the Tony Award.
DAMES is “a vintage valentine to those movies wherein a naïve girl from the sticks with big dreams and a nice pair of gams finds herself thrust center stage, tapping her way to instant celebrity” said Charles Isherwood of The New York Times.
“You don’t have to wrinkle your brain long enough to think about anything at all when you see Dames at Sea. A cornucopia of corn that pops right off the stage, it has nothing on its tiny mind but tapping your troubles away—and it succeeds with enough entertainment value to march you up the aisle in shoes with wings on. Yes, it’s another revival, but with this much fun, who would dare grumble? I promise you this: a good time is had by all.” - The New York Observer
“The show was so much fun that you couldn’t help giggling from beginning to end. The energy and push of the musical numbers, acting as a form of parody—a delight.” - The New Yorker