Dames at Sea to End Broadway Run
(© Jeremy Daniel)
Randy Skinner's new Broadway production of the 1966 musical Dames at Sea will end its run at the Helen Hayes Theatre on January 3, 2016, after 23 previews and 85 performances. The show officially opened on October 22 after beginning its run on September 24.
Featuring music by Jim Wise and a book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller, Dames at Sea is a parody of the 1930s Busby Berkeley-style movie musicals. The story follows Ruby, fresh off the bus in Manhattan, as she gets her first New York musical role — only to find out, along with the rest of the cast, that the theater is about to be demolished on opening night.
Directed and choreographed by Skinner, the show stars John Bolton (A Christmas Story) as The Captain/Hennesey, Mara Davi (A Chorus Line) as Joan, Danny Gardner (Lady, Be Good!) as Lucky, Eloise Kropp (On the Town) as Ruby, Olivier Award winner Lesli Margherita (Matilda The Musical) as Mona Kent, and Cary Tedder (Honeymoon in Vegas) as Dick.
The creative team includes Anna Louizos (scenic design), David C. Woolard (costume design), Ken Billington and Jason Kantrowitz (lighting design), Scott Lehrer (sound design), Jonathan Tunick (orchestrations), and Rob Berman (music supervision and vocal and dance arrangements).
The original production of Dames at Sea opened off-off-Broadway in 1966 at the Caffe Cino, before moving to off-Broadway's Bouwerie Lane Theatre in 1968. It transferred to the Theater de Lys (now the Lucille Lortel) in 1969, before launching a run in London's West End. The New York productions launched the career of young Bernadette Peters, who received a Drama Desk Award nomination of her performance as Ruby.
