Dames at Sea, originally written by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller in 1968, is a satirizing of the bombastic, over-the-top 1930s musicals that dominated both the stage and the silver screen for most of the Golden Age of Hollywood and Broadway. Replete with the aforementioned characters that seek to poke fun at the archetypes that are a dime a dozen in such wild and elaborate musicals, Dames on Broadway hilariously recreates the “small town girl comes to the big city to make it big” story with hilarious and ribald wit and cleverness. Duquesne University’s take of Dames at Sea is the quintessence of fun and brimming with chutzpah, leaving the audience dazzled and giddy in all the right ways.
This electric musical centers around a sweeter than pie young woman Ruby, played by Audrey Nigh, as she arrives on the set of the titular musical-within-the-musical, Dames on Broadway, fresh from her home in Utah to become the next Myrna Loy or Ginger Rogers. Within moments, Ruby is swept up into the frenetic tumult of the musical’s set, confronted with the brash, indomitable ego of the show’s star and prototypical Broadway bombshell Mona Kent, played by Mikayla Gilmer, and subjected to the cantankerous demands of the stodgy director Hennessey, played by Jarret Klunk. Ruby is saved and befriended by the tough-as-nails but with a heart-of-gold lesser showgirl Joan, played by Erin Fulton, who fuels Ruby’s delusional dream of making it big. After falling in love with the dapper and shockingly talented sailor Dick, played by Christian Poach, things start to unravel at a comical and relentless speed.
Duquesne’s adaptation of Dames, musically directed with tremendous heart and skill by Ellen Perkins marvelously captures the subtle nuances of the play. Dames casts the serendipity of events that transpire in most early-era musicals as if such things are standard fare. In order to do this, the play’s musical numbers can never veer away from the sense of gosh-golly earnestness that characterizes the songs they are parodying. Both the creative team and the actors are as dynamically funny as they are committedly sincere in their rendering of the songs—whether it be the pomp and flair of the opening number “Wall Street,” or the sensual rambunctiousness of “The Beguine.” Although Red Masques at Duquesne is somewhat smaller in size and scope, the young actors in this production show outstanding potential as both gifted singers and dancers. Audrey Nigh’s sensational range and effulgence is unbeatable when coupled with Christian Poach’s effortless razzmatazz showmanship. And, unequivocally, Mikayla Gilmer (who pulls impressive double duty as hair and makeup designer) gives a tremendous breakthrough performance, with her perfectly hyperbolic Mona delivering just the right amount flagrant sass and incomparable gusto.
Dames at Sea is a perfectly paced, ravishingly delightful satire that still manages to bemuse audiences with its toe-tapping, relentless hit-after-hit. For one of the more splendid evens of campy satire and genuinely lovely musical fun, check out Duquesne University’s Red Masquer’s latest production, Dames at Sea.
Show dates are now through November 17th, Thursday through Saturday at 8 pm; Sunday at 2 pm at the Genesius Theater on the campus of Duquesne University. For tickets click here.
Eva Phillips is celebrating her third year in Pittsburgh, third year writing for PGH in the Round, and twenty-seventh year not getting murdered (shockingly, despite all odds). She relocated to the brittle Steel City from Virginia to pursue her Masters in Literary and Cultural Studies at CMU (with a concentration in film theory and film criticism, and intersections with feminism and gender), and has spent the past few years in Pittsburgh cultivating her writing career, developing her blog https://www.tuesgayswithmorrie69.net/, raising two show cats, and widening her perspectives on the ever-evolving spectrum of theatre. She only has one Les Miserables tattoo out of her 32 tattoos, and she finds that morally reprehensible.
Categories: Archived Reviews