All Aboard for Broadway Dreams
June 3, 2025
By Emiliano Mejias
A suitcase. A smile. A dream.
That’s all Ruby carries when she steps off the bus from Utah and into the dizzying dazzle of 1930s New York City. She’s a small-town girl chasing big-time stardom, and in Dames at Sea, she might find it.
Tapping its way into the Gompertz Theatre this summer, Dames at Sea is part love letter, part send-up of the lavish movie musicals of the 1930s.
But while the story sparkles with backstage glamour and tap-dancing sailors, its heart beats with something deeper: the unshakable belief that dreams, no matter how improbable, can still come true.
“There’s such love for the classic movie musicals of the 1930s, and Dames at Sea delivers Busby Berkeley magic, on a postage stamp!” says director Ben Liebert, who choreographed and directed Jersey Boys and Waitress this past Winter Season.
“It’s packed with charm, laughs, great tunes, and killer tap dancing. If you love classic musicals—or just want to leave the theatre smiling—you’ll love this show.”
Ruby arrives in New York with nothing but hope in her heart and a song in her soul. She lands a role in a new Broadway musical just as the theatre is suddenly demolished, sending the cast scrambling to stage the show aboard a Navy battleship. Along the way, she meets Dick (Devin Johnson), a sailor with songwriting dreams of his own, and finds herself caught in a whirlwind of romance, rivalry, and rising stakes.
“Ruby is every bit the wide-eyed dreamer,” says Emily Ann Brooks, making her FST debut. “But she’s also gutsy. Determined. It’s fun to play someone who starts innocent and grows into her power, and gets to do it with sparkle.”
And sparkle it does.
The show is filled with theatrical characters: Mona, the glamorously dramatic diva who won’t give up center stage without a fight; Joan, Ruby’s savvy, no-nonsense new best friend; Lucky, a fast-talking sailor with charm to spare; and Hennesey, the crusty producer with a secret soft spot. With toe-tapping numbers like “Good Times Are Here to Stay,” backstage antics, and sly one-liners, Dames at Sea revels in the sheer joy of performance.
That joy isn’t accidental. The musical itself has roots in theatrical chutzpah. Written in the 1960s by composer Jim Wise and lyricists George Haimsohn and Robin Miller, Dames at Sea was created as a witty, affectionate spoof of the grand movie musicals that once dominated silver screens.
What started as a cheeky little show in a tiny Off-Off-Broadway space became a breakout hit, earning critical acclaim and launching the career of then-unknown Bernadette Peters.
Today, Dames at Sea still dazzles, reminding us that stardom doesn’t always need a grand spectacle. Sometimes, all it takes is a dreamer, a stage, and a little tap-dancing magic to light up the world.