Dames at Sea - 1994

History

About Dames...

Twenty six years ago, this little tribute to the Musicals of a by-gone ago opened in the East Village at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre. It moved to the Theatre de Lys in 1969, and finally closed after 575 performances. "Dames at Sea" pre-dated the modern revivals of "42nd Street," "Irene," and "No, No Nanette" and has been a favorite of summer stock and regional theaters across the country since that time. When it was revived off Broadway in 1985, veterans of countless Civic Light Opera productions flocked to audition. Because it is an affectionate and stylish evocation of a more innocent time in our history, "Dames at Sea" is also a perfect vehicle for young 'Broadway Babies' to work on. We are happy to give these young performers a chance to gain their 'Sea Legs,' and we thank you for your support in this project. Enjoy the show. - John Hall


Special Thanks to John Hayes and the Facilities Division of the UCLA Department of Music; and to John Brandt, Costumer in the UCLA Department of Theater, who still believes in Musicals.

Program and Flyer design & layout by David Park.

Biographies

Gold Cast Profiles

Fred Feizollahi
Frederick Andrew Feizollahi (Lucky) is a freshman dance major and is pleased to make his UCLA debut in "Dames at Sea." Fred has had previous starring roles in "The Boyfriend," "Camelot," "Annie Get Your Gun," and "Grease," and has also choreographed for Diablo Valley College's staging of "Me and My Girl." Fred will be attending the Boston Conservatory of Music next year where he will be furthering his study of Musical Theater.

Julie Fischer
Juliet Fischer (Mona Kent) is graduating this spring with her B.A. in Theater, Film and Television. Juliet has an extensive background in Dance and Theater. In dance, she has trained with the New York City Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet and was seen recently on "The Bob Hope Special." In theater, she has performed such roles as Anytime Annie in "42nd Street," and the Princess in "A Soldier's Tale." She was recently seen as Christine in the one woman show, "Finding H.P."

Jordan Gurner
Jordan Gurner (Hennesey/Capt. Courageous) will soon graduate magna cum laude with a B.A. in Theater from the School of Theater, Film, and Television at UCLA. This fall, Jordan will take on the role of Kenny in Michael Rupert's "Three Guys Naked From The Waist Down" with the Buffalo Nights Theatre Co., which he co-founded. He's really happy that he no longer has to take mid-terms.

Lesli Margherita
Lesli Margherita (Ruby), a junior majoring in Sociology, began performing with professional companies at age 10. More recently, some of her favorite roles have been Peggy in "42nd Street," Nellie in "South Pacific," Peter in "Peter Pan," Louise in "Gypsy," and the Mistress in "Evita." She is now a full time performer for Disney, appearing in many TV specials and shows, and can currently be seen as Princess Jasmine in "The Aladdin Dinner Show" at Disneyland.

David Shukiar
David Shukiar (Dick), a junior studying music, has just returned from the high seas where he performed for six months on board Holland America's Ms. Westerdam. He was just awarded first place in the 1994 UCLA Carol Burnett Musical Theater Competition, and has written the music for "Make Believe," a children's musical being produced at UCLA. Other credits include: "Candide" and "Romancing Valentino" at UCLA, and the Drama-Logue Award-winning productions of "Anything Goes," "Singin' in the Rain," and "The Pirates of Penzance" with the Civic Light Opera of the South Bay Cities.

Lisa Yuen
Lisa Yuen (Joan) is graduating this spring with a degree in Communication Studies and an emphasis in Mass Media. Two days after graduation, Lisa will start rehearsing for "Hello, Dolly," "West Side Story," and "Damn Yankees" with the Music Theatre of Wichita. Having appeared in over 25 shows, her past credits include playing Paquette in "Candide" (UCLA), Fran Swenson in "Working" (UCLA), Helen in "Human Comedy" (TheatreWorks), Bet in "Oliver" (TheatreWorks), and ensemble in "Jesus Christ Superstar" (San Jose Civic Light Opera). Lisa was a finalist in the Miss America Pageant and is a two-time, first place winner of the UCLA Carol Burnett Musical Theater Competition.


Blue Cast Profiles

Julie Connors
Julie Connors (Joan) is a graduating senior majoring in sociology. Last year, Julie was seen as a tap-dancing "Tuckerette" and stormtrooper touring Japan for six months in George Lucas' "Super Live Adventure." A two-time second place award recipient of the UCLA Carol Burnett Musical Theater Competition, Julie has also appeared as Dainty June in "Gypsy" at the Grand Dinner Theatre, as Charity in "Anything Goes" at GLOSBC, and in the critically acclaimed "Club Indigo Revisited" at the Golden Theatre. Julie wishes to thank her voice teacher, Rickie Gole, Joan Hoytt, Cathy, and Jonas for their endless support and encouragement.

Juan F. Garcia
Juan Felipe Amadeus Garcia Rodriguez (Hennesey/Capt. Courageous) is an undeclared, first-year sophomore who is thrilled to be making his UCLA musical theater debut in "Dames at Sea." Juan has also performed with the Royal Players as Billy in "Anything Goes," as well as the Leading Player in "Pippin" with SVCAC. He would like to thank his family and friends for their love and patience.

Lori Halopoff
Lori Halopoff (Ruby) is an ethnomusicology major who loves to perform various styles of music which led her to sing with Gospel, Mariachi, and Native American groups. She was most recently featured in "4-Play," "Jo Ha Kyu," and "Awaken A Cappella" at Spring Sing (for which she came home with three trophies). Lori played Snoopy in "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" and was featured in "Romancing Valentino." She would like to thank her family and friends for their continuous support.

Satomi Hofmann
Satomi Hofmann (Mona Kent) is returning to UCLA after six months of performing, appropriately, at sea with the Holland America Cruise Line. The 1993 second-place winner of the UCLA Carol Burnett Musical Theater Competition, Satomi has also performed the roles of Connie in "Beehive," Milly in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," and the starring role of Pola in the UCLA premiere of Jason Schaefer's "Romacing Valentino." Satomi is a graduating senior majoring in Theater Arts.

Dean Avery McFliker
Dean Avery McFliker (Lucky), a veteran of stage and screen, made his professional debut at age 8, and ever since has worked as an actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, and director in film, TV, theatre, radio & concert performances around the world. Highlights include "Tina Turner's Foreign Affair Tour," "Ray Charles LIVE" (in Monte Carlo), "Roseanne" (ABC), "Newsies" (Disney), and working with Twyla Tharp on "I'll Do Anything." A senior English major, Dean is finally graduating and will be attending NYU Film School in the fall.

Mario Rocha
Mario Rocha (Dick) is a music voice performance major in the School of the Arts at UCLA. His love of singing all styles from jazz to opera, has put him on the operatic as well as the musical theater stage. In spring of '93, Mario toured St. Petersburg, Estonia, Lithuania, and Finland as well as recorded a Christmas CD as a tenor, with UCLA's Final Madrigal Singers. Mario intends to sing for as long as he is able, hopefully making a few cents along the way.