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Winking at the American musical
'Dames at Sea' now playing at Henry Strater Theatre
Special to the Herald
Photo by NICK MANNING/Herald
Five of the six cast members sing “Good Times are Here to Stay” to close the first act of “Dames at Sea” during Friday’s opening performance at the Henry Strater Theatre. From left are Austin Hohnke, Jessica Jane Hagemeister, Elizabeth Gray, Adam Fontana and Landon Newton.
Click image to enlarge
Photo by NICK MANNING/Herald
Leah Nikula as Mona and Austin Hohnke as Hennessey perform “That Mister Man of Mine.”
If you go
The Henry Strater Theatre presents “Dames at Sea,” a musical comedy by Jim Wise, George Haimshon and Robin Miller. Produced by Merely Players, directed by Mona Wood-Patterson. Tickets range from $20 to $30 and are available at the Henry Strater Theatre box office, 375-7160 or www.henrystratertheatre.com.
"Dames at Sea," a spoof of American feel-good musicals, opened last weekend for a summerlong run. Sparkling and silly, "Dames" is just the right show for the season, the venue and the economic slump we're all paddling through.
Last Friday night, almost everything and everyone was performance-ready.
One technical glitch, however, marred much of the first act. An overachieving sound system dented an otherwise worthy launch. By intermission, someone seemed to notice and motored down an often painful overamplification, but only slightly. A balanced sound level for audience comfort is critical. In the intimate atmosphere of the Hank, do we need rock-concert acoustics?
That said, sound levels can be fixed. What about content, style, music and casting? Created in the '60s, "Dames" parodies all those fluffy American musicals about kids who dream of Broadway fame. Overflowing with well-cargoed clichés, "Dames" is set during World War II. Act I takes place backstage somewhere in New York. Act II unfurls on a battleship.
Ruby (played by Jessica Jane Hagemeister), a small-town girl from Utah, arrives in New York and immediately stumbles into all kinds of good luck. She's instantly hired by stage manager Hennessey (Austin Hohnke) for a show that suddenly needs a chorine. Then, in a Flatbush second, Ruby is befriended by Joan (Elizabeth Gray), a seasoned chorus girl. Ruby bumps into Dick (Adam Fontana), who instantly becomes the love of her improbable life. Dick's Navy buddy Lucky (Landon Newton) arrives and happens to be Joan's squeeze.
Fortunately, all this fair weather sparks storm warnings. Mona (Leah Nikula), the quintessentially monstrous star, takes an instant dislike to Ruby and poaches the boyfriend. Opening night looms, and so does a bulldozer. Will the show continue - somewhere, anywhere? The title provides the answer. After intermission, the tiny Strater stage turns into the deck of a battleship. A happy ending cannot be far away.
From the beginning, Director Mona Wood-Patterson sets an energetic pace with a lively overture and a comic synchronized swimming routine. Three guys disguised as Esther Williams bathing beauties coyly step out and dive into simulated ocean waves. The swimmers smile, twirl and even perform upside-down pirouettes. It's an effervescent preamble to an unlikely but charming story. Brimming with energy, the entire cast sustains the light-hearted tone throughout the two-hour show.
"Dames" is rich, if not musically memorable. Some of the song parodies may remind you of classics. "Raining in My Heart" is a puddle away from "Stormy Weather." "The Beguine," a tongue-in-cheek rumba, features a sea-sick Mona making a play for her old flame, the ship's captain (Hohnke again, but this time as a self-important officer). "The Beguine" turns into a full company number and carries more than a whiff of Cole Porter.
As young lovers, Hagemeister and Fontana get the best ballads and render them with an alternating sense of ecstasy and despair. Nikula vamps the heck out of "That Mister Man of Mine," a below-decks version of "The Man That Got Away." Hohnke's Hennesey gets a big reprise of "Broadway Baby," but it's not the tune you're thinking of. Newton and Gray are absolutely winning as the seasoned, second-tier lovers.
Newton has a resonant baritone, and Gray, especially, lights up Joan's savvy, older-sister persona with great stage eyes and easy, saucy gestures.
Accompanist Helen Gregory and percussionist Stephen Nogarede set a snappy pace and keep it going.
Credit Denise Hagemeister for imaginative choreography. The tap numbers could use a little more snap, but you can't do much with one given - a hollow-sounding floor. Set and technical director Charles Ford delivers a good-looking "backstage" and set up its demise. In Act II, Ford creates enough of a ship's deck to make the illusion hold. JoAnn Nevils' period costumes are simply beautiful, from Mona's green, bias-cut chemise, to vintage gowns that appear like white clouds at the end.
As advertised, "Dames" is definitely a family show.
Jud_rey@yahoo.com.
Judith Reynolds is a Durango writer, artist and critic.
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