A grand salute to ‘40s musicals

Watching the Glendale Centre Theatre’s production of “Dames At Sea”

is like spending a mere $18 for a ticket to one of the hottest shows

on Broadway -- and getting a front row seat. It’s bright. It’s tight.

It’s solid. It’s fast paced. It’s totally professional.

It’s got class.

“Dames At Sea” is part spoof, part tribute to those great MGM

musicals of the past, where the sailors (whether Dick Powell, Fred

Astaire, Buddy Ebsen, Gene Kelly or Frank Sinatra) loved their

country and their girlfriends, in that order, and the girlfriends

(whether Ruby Keeler, Ginger Rogers, or Betty Garrett) loved being

Broadway stars.

The show is so enjoyable, it’s like eating nothing but gourmet ice

cream and popcorn for dinner. Most of the credit for this top-notch

dessert of a show goes to director Michael Sterling, who’s put

together a fabulous production team, with each member as dedicated to

excellence as he is. First is the central cast, which has six

wonderfully talented people, who act, sing and tap dance their hearts

out.

Bernadette C. Peters as Ruby is a sweet and perfect Kewpie doll of

a musical leading lady. She is matched in enthusiasm and talent by

Chris Ciccarelli’s Dick. Theresa Anne Swain as Ruby’s gold-hearted

friend Joan, and Robert Pieranunzi as Dick’s sailor-mate Lucky, are

simply knock-outs. They oughta be in pictures.

Donna Cherry, as the inevitably jealous, impossibly vain leading

lady, who is out to ruin Ruby’s career before it starts, and Dink

O’Neal, as both theater producer Hennesey, and the Millionaire Ship’s

Captain, couldn’t be more dedicated to having fun while creating

havoc.

They are all supported in turn by six super chorus members, who

magically appear every five minutes, ready to lightly skip through

another song, in a new nifty costume with matching shoes. And after

the show, they all go out to the lobby and greet the audience. Whew.

The tap dancing is fabulous, choreographed by Mark Knowles via

inspiration by Busby Berkeley. The sailor suits and matching dance

outfits are also great, courtesy of Glendale Costumes.

And pulling everything together, on the button (yes, somebody hits

a button, all the music is all taped) are Steven Applegate, providing

musical direction, and Jeremy Williams and Michael Sterling, creating

scenic design. All this is on a theater-in-the-round stage that might

be 20 feet across, if everyone sitting in the front row moved their

feet.

So, if you were thinking about flying to New York this month to

catch a musical, put the plane ticket money back in your pocket, and

come down to the Glendale Centre Theatre instead.

There, in the way that only live theater patrons can do in a live

theater with living and breathing human beings in front of them, you

can thank everyone involved, along with producers Brenda and Tim

Dietlein, for a job well done.

FYI

WHAT: “Dames at Sea,” book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and Robin

Miller, music by Jim Wise

WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Saturday

through Oct. 8

WHERE: The Glendale Centre Theatre, 324 N. Orange St., Glendale

TICKETS: $19 to $21 with senior and group discounts available.

PHONE: (818) 244-8481

WEBSITE: www.glendalecentretheatre.com

* MARY BURKIN is a Glendale lawyer and actress. She has a

bachelor’s degree in drama from USC and a master’s degree in theater

arts from Cal State Long Beach. She a member of the three

professional acting unions -- SAG, AFTRA and AEA.