STAGE REVIEWS : ‘Dames at Sea’: Floundering Attempt at Parody : Spoof of Busby Berkeley movies seems as if it’s been sinking for a long time. And Yorba Linda Civic Light Opera isn’t up to saving it.

“Dames at Sea” is a trifle--on the list of great American musicals, it ranks about . . . nah, it doesn’t even belong on the list.

It’s surprising, then, that the George Haimsohn-Robin Miller-Jim Wise show has turned up simultaneously at two Orange County playhouses: Yorba Linda Civic Light Opera and Buena Park Civic Theatre are staging this chestnut; the reasons are hard to determine.

“Dames at Sea,” first presented off-off Broadway in a one-act version in 1966 and given a full production off-Broadway in 1968, is meant to be a nostalgic spoof of all those Busby Berkeley movies from the ‘30s.

Besides a pocketful of vaguely familiar songs, including “Good Times Are Here to Stay” and “Star Tar,” its main distinction is that it inspired the better-known “42nd Street,” which became a Broadway hit in 1980.

Contrasted with “42nd Street,” “Dames at Sea” seems like it’s been sinking for a long time. This is a musical that just keeps on taking on water. The Yorba Linda Civic Light Opera production contains little that would warrant a reclamation.

Director Gary Krinke and his cast know that “Dames at Sea” needs more than a bit of exuberance and a winking style to get us to overlook the material’s spareness. Exertion, however, too often substitutes for entertainment. The parodying shtick gets tiresome, leaving everybody on stage high and dry.

Of course, they don’t really have much to work with. The premise here is that musical producer Hennese y (Douglas Austin) is trying to salvage what may be his “13th floperoo” before its impending opening on Broadway. His temperamental star Mona (Barbara Hinrichsen) is a major pain. Then the real bomb drops: the theater closes, leaving the production dangling.

To the rescue comes Dick (Michael Conte), a sailor who just happens to write show tunes in his spare time. Why not stage the musical on his battleship?

Everybody thinks it’s a great idea, including perky ingenue Ruby (Deena Driskill), Rick’s girlfriend and a toe-tapping wonder.

Driskill is the most amusing of the bunch, with the goofy, double-taking manner she brings to Ruby. Her singing voice isn’t bad, either, which is about the highest compliment you can pay the rest of the performers. The singing, while competent, never reaches beyond that.

As for the spoofing, Krinke is hemmed in by the small stage and cast. How can you tease Busby Berkeley when you can’t fill the scene with dozens and dozens of dancing feet?

The scarcity of bodies may be part of the joke, but it’s not funny enough. Berkeley was all about inflated extravagance--this is more about reduced expectations.

‘Dames at Sea’

A Yorba Linda Civic Light Opera of the musical by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller (book and lyrics) and Jim Wise (music). Directed by Gary Krinke. With Barbara Hinrichsen, Douglas Austin, Robyn Pedritti, Deena Driskill, Michael Conte, Bruce Wheeler, Tamara Allen, Stacy Goldsmith, Kin Lam, Kerry Martinez, Charlie Reeves, Flynn Roberts, Rhea Roberts and Donna Nelson. Choreography by John Vaughan. Musical direction by Joe Monteleone. Lighting by Edward Huber. Sets by Gil Morales. Costumes by Lynda Blais and Mary Engwall. Plays Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. with matinees at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the Yorba Linda Forum, 4175 Fairmont Blvd., Yorba Linda. $9 to $13.50. (714) 779-8591. Running time: 2 hours.