'The high, thrilling song of the Sirens will transfix him'

Far from her humble beginnings in Utah, Ruby steps off a bus in the Big Apple to find fortune and fame under the glittery lights on Broadway. What she finds is not quite what she expected.

"She arrives as everything is going awry and saves the day," said Andy Meyers, director of "Dames at Sea," and artistic director for Fort Peck Summer Theatre.

"Dames at Sea" is a musical with book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller and music by Jim Wise. It is the first show of the Fort Peck Summer Theatre 2021 season, and the first live performance since 2019, as the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is also the first show in the newly renovated building.

"This theatre was part of the New Deal and was used as a venue for entertainment," Meyers said.

The Fort Peck Theatre was built as a temporary structure in 1934, and initially served as a movie theatre, according to the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed and built by Eugene Frank Gilstrap and the C.F. Haglin Company in a pseudo-Swiss-chalet style as an amenity for the 50,000 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers workers and their families working on the Fort Peck Dam project. The interior features open-truss wood construction, with handcrafted light fixtures fabricated in Corps of Engineers workshops. The theater survived to become a permanent facility, and by 2008 was in use as a community theater. The building includes a stage, a 1,209-seat auditorium, a lounge, a foyer, a lobby, a manager's office and four dressing rooms.

The extensive renovations, which cost about $130,000, were initially intended to be completed over three years, Meyers said, but instead only took one year because the facility was closed to the public in 2020.

"When we canceled our season last year, we went ahead and just ripped off the Band-Aid. A handful of us stayed all year. We have spent the last 14-months here."

The renovations were funded by about $107,000 in donations and another $38,000 in grant monies. The remaining funding will be used to help pay for a new roof over the structure, expected to be installed in the near future.

"We started fundraising in 2014. It was major. A lot of it was to bring it up to safety code. The stage itself has had many versions and Band-Aids over the years, so we just tore it down to the bones. It is a brand new stage and an all new sound system. The dressing rooms are all remodeled."

All the updates will be front and center durin the current run of "Dames at Sea," Meyers said.

"It was really important for us that this opening show coming out of renovation, we try to really show off all the features and all the bells and whistles of the renovation."

Renovations included new special effects, and the sound system has been upgraded.

Mike Rukstad, who toured as a sound engineer for the stage production of "Hamilton," said the upgraded system is a vast improvement.

"It is great," he said. "We have some more things to do to make the sound coverage really good, but this is such a great step. We have new speakers up here in the balcony, a little sound closet (near stage). We have new power distribution. And, it's all wireless."

The dressing rooms have also been wired for sound, allowing the cast members to hear what is happening live on stage.

BACK IN THE LIMELIGHT

The cast of eight are thrilled to be back on stage in front of a live audience.

"It is going to be very exciting," said Megan Grosso, originally of Billings, who portrays Ruby in the play. "I know I was very excited to be able to audition for this show because it has been 16-months. Everyone is just really excited to see live-theater and be in the room together again.

Even in the past week we have been ready for an audience just to hear some laughter in house. It will be fun to have a full house again. I hope you enjoy it. It is going to be a lot of fun."

Jaclyn Stapp, who portrays temperamental diva Mona, said being back on stage is a huge gift.

"This is one of the industries that has such a big heart to give to others, so to go through over a year of allowing that feeling to buildup, it is a huge gift to be able to give that. I was really fortunate because I was actually a replacement. The person who originally cast unfortunately wasn't able to stay. As awful as that was, I fell really grateful I have been able to step into that. And, it is such a special place. This place was special to begin with, but the restoration and really amplifying the roots of where this came from is amazing."

Garrett Hill - who portrays Dick, a sailor, aspiring songwriter and Ruby's love interest - said the entire experience has been surreal.

"When we got the scripts, when we got cast, it was amazing. But, you kept waiting for something to go wrong again. Can this be real? Are we really coming back? And then, we all arrived and started doing music rehearsals. We started doing scene work and choreography. Now we have hit this spot where the next step is really the audience and us saying, 'we did it. We put up a live show and people came and saw it.'"

Stapp noted many other portions of the country are still closed to live performances.

"A lot of people aren't performing yet," she said. "It is a gift and something we can give to the audience members because hopefully they are ready to receive what they have been wanting."

Hill said it is a great pleasure for the cast and crew to perform.

"I think it is just as much for us as it is for the audience, to have live entertainment again and have a story told. It is the classic fall in love, miscommunication, back in love kind of story. I think it is one of those feel good stories we all need to hear right now, hopefully, coming out of the pandemic. Things are going to be OK."

DIVING INTO THEIR ROLES

While the show appeared originally Off-Broadway in 1966, it is based on the 1930s era. The crew-members steeped themselves in contemporary pop culture in preparation for their roles.

"We did lots of research and there are so many references in this script, because this script was written as tribute," Meyers said. "We definitely have some Easter eggs."

While never performing in such a role, Hill said filling Dick's shoes is almost second nature.

"I grew up watching so many movie-musicals. I feel I have lived this 100 times in my head. It feels kind of natural. It feels kind of right."

The U.S. Navy stripes on his uniform "feel really good," he added.

Stapp has appeared in "Kiss Me Kate," set in the 1940s, and said she has quite enjoyed bringing the era to life.

"It was such a glamorous time period. It was very movie star. And, after a year plus of us wearing our exercise gear, yoga pants and sweats and no makeup, it has been such a gift and a lot of fun to really lean into that time period and dig deep and execute it, and hopefully honor it."

Hill said the dialogue is most definitely from the pre-war era.

"We have that final song called 'Star Tar.' We got here and were like, 'what does that mean?' I think it started in the 1600s, but 'tar' was another name for a sailor. Sailors at the time took tar and put it in their hair to slick it back so that when they were raising the mast and getting all the sails set, none of the ropes would catch in their hair and yank them somewhere they were not supposed to be," Hill continued.

BUTTERFLIES

Pre-show glitters are natural, and each thespian has their own way of dealing with them.

Someone once told me if you have butterflies or you get nervous, it is because you care," Grosso said. "I care a lot."

To ground herself, Grosso makes sure to get limber before each performance, especially important for this production as there is plenty of tap-dancing.

"I just take some time to focus in for the show."

In total, there are eight cast-members, and an additional eight crew backstage, Meyers said.

"It is a super ensemble piece, which is great. We chose it to debut the new stage because there are a lot of great roles for people and we weren't sure what the capacities of our cast size could be coming out of the pandemic and we wanted to do a tap show because it is the debut of the new stage."

With nearly two years gone by since the last live performance at Fort Peck, Meyers said it is great to finally get back on stage.

"It has been super nostalgic. It feels like we have forgotten how to turn on some light switches, but then it also feels like riding a bicycle all at the same time."

Most all cast and crew live outside of Valley County, Meyers said.

"We provide housing. We all live together and work together. Everyone builds the sets and does the costumes. It is truly a troupe of actors. We audition all throughout the country throughout the year. This year was virtual. They sent in videos. We travel to regional auditions. We do a call in New York. And, a lot of is word of mouth. We have company members who are back for their eighth or ninth season."

It has become a summer tradition, Meyers said.

"I think it is always a good reminder that when [the audience] sees the show, they see those performers out there who got up at 7 a.m. and painted the set and sewed the costumes. We rehearse the show for 10 days. It is not leisurely. It is fast and furious. As a group they come into a bare stage, a pile of lumber and few bolts of fabric."

Now in its 52nd season, the troupe has not forgotten its storied past.

"The company itself has a lot of quirky pass down traditions we try to pay tribute to," Meyers said. "We certainly adjust them each year. There is a traditional Fort Peck song we always perform together on opening night."

Meyers encourages members of Valley County to attend the family friendly performances running through June 20.

"This show, in particular, is going to be so family friendly and is showing off so much of the fundraising [the community] participated in. We really want this show to be a tribute and a thank you for all the work. This is a great cast, a great company and we are excited to be back kicking off our 52nd season."

Chris McDaniel can be reached at 406-263-3677 or [email protected].