Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Beauty is often thought to dwell in the eye of the beholder, but did you know that it can also be found in a small, unpretentious musical? “Dames at Sea,” now playing at the Bay Street Theatre in the seaside hamlet of Sag Harbor, New York, is a small jewel that outsparkles many a multicarat solitaire.

The show that ran off-Broadway for 575 performances beginning in 1968 (and has been much revived since) made a lot of people happy and Bernadette Peters a star. We are not informed what George Haimsohn and Robin Miller, librettist- lyricists, and Jim Wise, composer, went on to, but just for “Dames at Sea” a little corner of show-biz heaven is surely theirs forever.

The show parodies those movie musicals of the 30s in which Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler, teeth alight and ankles aweigh, dazzled us courtesy of the Warners’ brotherly love. Breathes there a man (or woman) with soul so dead not to have thrilled to those cornball extravaganzas on large or little screens? Even those to whom this is news will find that it can stand on its tap-dancing feet.

Ruby, an innocent from Centerville, Utah, and Dick, a songwriting sailor of (surprise!) the same provenance, meet cute backstage at a rehearsing Broadway musical. He wants to sell his songs to the tempestuous leading lady Mona Kent. She has spent her last nickel on getting to this theater.

Invidious Wishes

Quicker than you can say Busby Berkeley, Ruby replaces a defected chorine over Mona’s invidious wishes. Ruby also falls for Dick, only to have Mona seemingly vamp him away. Soon Ruby is no longer singing “The Sailor of My Dreams,” but “Raining in My Heart.”

While the basically faithful Dick is unorthodoxly peddling his songs to the man-eating Mona, his shipmate Lucky is making hay with the show’s tart soubrette, Joan, who, however, resents his not producing a ring. When, owing to arrears, the wrecking ball invades the theater, Dick ingeniously convinces his commanding officer, Captain Courageous, to allow the premiere to take place on deck of his battleship.

This is finagled because Mona (born Grace Pavlikovsky in Brooklyn) once had an affair with the Captain, who knows her as Consuelo. They blissfully reminisce in a beguine about “those nights of splendor in Pensacola.” Though jealous Mona almost gets Ruby fired, seasickness flattens her and Ruby takes over the lead.

Happy Ending

Not only the show within the show but also the lives of its characters end happily. Lucky finally proposes to Joan, Mona snags the Captain, and Dick and Ruby, all misunderstandings cleared up, are wedded in style undreamt of in Centerville.

You would have guessed the plot even without my synopsis; what you might not have imagined is the nifty direction of Ray Roderick, which makes cliches shine as if new-minted; the choreography of Shea Sullivan, which turns imitation more flattering than ever; and the music direction of pianist Rick Hip-Flores, which imbues piano, violin and drums with orchestral riches.

Laurie Wells is a lovably booable Mona, Joyce Chittick’s Joan a sassy reincarnation of Joan Blondell, Javier Cano an endearingly nerdy Dick, Patrick Wetzel’s Lucky proof of how nimble a big man can be and Stuart Marland equally dexterous as harassed stage manager and amorous seawolf. And then there is the Ruby of Kristen Martin, who exemplifies the ideal ingenue in looks, acting and dancing. Like Ruby in the show, so may Kristen in life have gone on as a (relative) unknown and come off paradigmatically as a full-blown star.

Through Sept. 6 at the Bay Street Theatre, Sag Harbor. Information: +1-631-725-9500; http://www.baystreet.org.

Rating: ****

What the Stars Mean:
****       Do Not Miss
***        Excellent
**         Average
*          Poor
(No stars) Worthless

(John Simon is the New York drama critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: John Simon in New York at jis1925@aol.com.

Last Updated: August 22, 2009 00:01 EDT