THEATER REVIEW: 'Dames at Sea'

Busby Berkeley musicals served as a weird fascination for the peace-and-love generation. Why? All those surreal sequences of long-legged showgirls doing exactly the same thing, maybe, or their weird mix of salacious surrealism and gee-whiz innocence. They were long strange trips, and the baby boomers liked that.

Back in 1968, a sketch-comedy spoof of Berkeley musicals grew into a full-length musical. George Haimsohn and Robin Miller wrote the script and lyrics; Jim Wise composed the music. Part parody, part love letter, “Dames at Sea” opened off Broadway, and it’s sailing now in a Manatee Players production.

The plot? Do I have to tell you?

In a nod to Ruby Keeler, Ruby (Sarah Baeder) leaves Utah and arrives on Broadway with tap shoes in her suitcase and a prayer in her heart. Five minutes later, she lands a role in a major production and swoons in a sailor’s arms. Dick (Bill Shideler), the sailor in question, happens to be a composer/lyricist. These instant romantic leads get instant pals: Joan (Rachel Knowles), the brassy seen-it-all chorus girl, and Lucky, the wiseguy sailor (Nick Drivas). Romance aside, the director (Jeff Sargent) is having a nervous breakdown.
The show opens tonight — and the show’s in trouble! To make more trouble, Mona Kent, the diva in charge (Kris Sethi), throws out the existing numbers and substitutes Dick’s stuff. Then the WPA decides to turn the theater into a roller rink, and bulldozers arrive. Hang on. We can stage the musical on a battleship — it’s “Dames at Sea,” right? Mona sweet-talks the Captain (Jeff Sargent again) and he says yes. But Mona gets seasick, and Ruby gets to do the big number. A star is born. After the show, everybody gets married.

The material is a goof; Steve Dawson directs it without elbowing you in the ribs. It’s a voyage on the seas of parody — and it’s all smooth sailing. He has a perfect ear for the original and gets the sounds, rhythms and mood exactly right.

Shideler plays Dick-the-songwriting sailor with impossibly boyish innocence (shades of Henry Aldritch, if you can dig the ancient radio reference). Baeder is wide-eyed, optimistic and bubblehead in the Ruby role that launched Bernadette Peters. Drivas (endlessly pretending to blow his horn) and Knowles (who seems to be chewing gum, even when she isn’t) are appropriately cocky and brassy as Dick and Ruby’s archetypal pals. Sargent is a hoot in his dual roles as put-upon director and creampuff Captain. Sethi’s hilarious bits as the diva character include a funny, flirtatious bump-and grind and an unsuccessful attempt to seductively leap on a piano. (The audience howled.)

It’s a fast, fun show, with suitably zippy choreography from Pat Ross. Berkeley’s musicals were big cast productions. “Dames at Sea” spoofs them with a tiny cast — a big part of the original gag, of course.
(There’s an inventive bit where they haul out reflective Mylar panels, which makes the six people tap-dancing on stage seem like a crowd.) Scenic designer Michael Newton-Brown did a similar trick with his sets: minimal, dual-purpose stuff standing in for the films’ overblown, surreal originals. Costume designer Becky Evans also captured the look and feel of the Berkeley’s flicks. Period garb but not spot-on realistic. Everybody looks like they’re wearing a costume — or just walked out of a movie.

This satiric voyage is well worth taking. You don’t have to know Berkeley’s films to enjoy it — and won’t shed a tear if you’re a big Berkeley fan. It’s gentle caricature, not a slap. The musical mockery is easy to miss. Something tells me many of the passengers in the audience did. They’re just enjoying the trip.
Somewhere, in a heaven full of elaborate cloud architecture and beautiful angels with long legs, I get the feeling Busby Berkeley is smiling.

IF YOU GO

“Dames at Sea” runs through Sept. 28, at Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 3rd Ave. W., Bradenton.
For more information, call 748-5875 or visit manateeplayers.com.