Watching freeFall Theatre’s effervescent, giddy musical spoof, “Dames at Sea,” got me thinking about how “tempus fugit.” When a teenage Bernadette Peters burst onto the New York theater scene as Ruby (after innocent flapper tapper Ruby Keeler), it was late in the swinging 1960s amidst the upheaval of the Vietnam War and the incipient sexual revolution. We were just 30-plus years removed from the extravagant Busby Berkeley film musicals that buoyed the spirits of Depression-era America.
Dames at Sea
Through Nov. 2. $25-$55
freeFall Theatre
6099 Central Ave., St. Petersburg
727-498-5205; freefalltheatre.com
“Dames’” spot-on parody of these ebullient, over-the-top films was funny not just because of the inverted scale—”Dames” cast of six vs. the dancing multitudes of the 1930s—but because of familiarity. Audiences knew the genre well and instantly recognized composer Jim Wise’s pastiche score stolen directly from the Great American Songbook. And the lyrical references to film stars of the prior era put a smile of recognition onto the faces of mid-20th Century patrons.
Now, we’re 50-plus years from “Dames’” heyday. Luckily, Gen X and millennial audiences have TCM and Amazon Prime to study this ancient history. But, we must remember that Busby Berkeley was no more removed from late-60s theatregoers than Madonna and Michael Jackson are from today. “Dames” takes careful aim and hits a tuneful bullseye on its intended target. The more you know about the genre, the funnier the spoof is. The main character names are a direct ripoff of the 1930s stars, but the ever tuneful score may have jaded 2021 audiences scratching their heads and running to their online dictionaries. Cole Porter’s “Begin the Beguine” (which inspires an Act II delight) was an old duck even in 1935. And the big, penultimate number—built on an ancient British sailing term “Jack Tar”—hails our heroine as the “Star Tar” of the Navy. These esoteric origins might perplex modern audiences. At least the “poop deck” lyric gets a chuckle, but not for its French/Latin roots.
Director Eric Davis does his best to establish historical context through projected titles, reminding us of the early 20th Century pandemic, economic crash and the concomitant political polarization that echo with the present moment. And as luck would have it, freeFall Theatre is blessed with Michael Raabe, it’s über-talented, nostalgic musical director and arranger who lives for music before he was born. Plus, Davis knows the style of these musical masterpieces and understands intuitively exactly how to translate their enormous appeal for 21st Century crowds. The early love song “It’s You” features clever heart-shaped projections that serve as a visual reinforcement for those young audience members for whom Shirley Temple is merely a kiddie cocktail with extra maraschino cherries.
The beaming cast captures the “gee-whizz” enthusiasm embedded in this American culture fairy tale of overnight stardom. Ephie Aardema (plucky dancer Joan) and Erick Ariel Sureda (supportive friend Lucky) shine as the second bananas. Kristina Huegel, seems a tad young as the jealous aging star, Mona Kent, but she proves to be an adept farceur and musical triple threat. The versatile Tyler Fish doubles as the overwrought director Hennessy and the smitten Captain. Their lustful “The Beguine” lampoons the rekindling of an old flame with delicious stylized flair.
Perhaps it’s asking too much for Kyra Smith’s eager young Ruby to shine like the singular talent of Bernadette Peters, who created the role. Smith is appropriately cheerful and demonstrates significant tapping and vocal chops, but lacks the star power to dominate the stage and (at least on opening night) had a few intonation problems on sustained vowels which only resolved at the end of the phrase. These are minor quibbles, but when we’re being told that Ruby “came home a Broadway star,” she needs to dazzle at every turn. Also, her wig has so much hair that you lose her face whenever she flashes her winning smile. Wig designer Scott Daniel, of Premier Postiche, has a perfect track record in my experience, so I’m thrown off balance by this choice. Nonetheless, Smith and Alex Jorth (Dick the obtuse sailor-songwriter) successfully sell their romantic connection based on coincidental hometown roots. And Jorth doesn’t miss a beat as a piano magically appears from the stage right wings (with essential props) each time inspiration strikes.
Visually, the show is up to freeFall’s high standards. Director Davis has worked hand in glove with Set/Lighting Designer Tom Hansen to create charming, evocative stage pictures, using the Art Deco proscenium arch and entrances, plus a gun metal battleship with faux painted cannons, rows of rat-a-tat rivets and a shimmering navy blue metallic tinsel fringe curtain. Even though the costumes are from Costume World Theatrical instead of Davis’s imagination, they are carefully chosen to evoke character as well as theatrical glitz. Ruby’s dress for her momentary lovelorn lament, “Raining in my Heart,” looks like a belted Polynesian muumuu, however, and distracts from the splendid ensemble in bright yellow sailor’s raincoats and Sou’wester caps while twirling rainbow umbrellas.
My theater-going companion is a former Broadway hoofer, who shares my admiration for the cast’s toe-tapping skills, but also notes that the choreography by Kristie Kerwin mostly delivers predictable steps. And while some of these are “greatest hit cliches” that give audiences comfort, there’s little surprise to quicken the pulse. That doesn’t dampen the considerable joy enveloping the audience, but it does make me long for moments that thrill rather than amuse.
But, if you can keep your 2021 cynicism in check, I urge you to go. “Dames at Sea” is the perfect injection of joy to inoculate audiences from COVID malaise. It’s a one-shot vaccination without political ripples that is it’s own booster.
UPDATED: 10/26/21 2:35 p.m. Updated details about a wig and the way it fell on an actors face.
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This article appears in Oct 28 – Nov 3, 2021.