SOUTH: A NAUTICAL MUSICAL Comes to the Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill
The show opens July 24 and runs through August 3, 2025.
By: Stephi Wild Jun. 30, 2025
This summer, Bridge Street Theatre invites audiences to hoist the sails, pack their sense of adventure, and come aboard South: A Nautical Musical - a delightfully offbeat, emotionally rich, and gloriously tuneful new musical comedy making its stage debut in Catskill. Directed and choreographed by Timothy Dakin-Dunn, South opens July 24 and runs through August 3, 2025.
Originally developed as a full-length audio musical - and winner of a Platinum Award from the National Audio Theatre Festivals - South tells the story of a young sailor on a quest to find his mother, encountering pirates, queens, and coffee along the way. Set in the golden era of wooden ships and Caribbean breezes, it's a journey filled with heart, hilarity, and a killer score of original songs by writer-composer Carmen Borgia.
Dakin-Dunn, who also serves as Bridge Street Theatre's Assistant Artistic Director, was drawn to the project for its joyful spirit and theatrical scope. "The world feels kind of chaotic and scary right now," he says, "and rather than shrivel up and hide, I decided, instead, that I'd much rather stand up and make some joyful noise! And that's what this show is! A celebration of musical theatre! Sailboats! Pirates! Amazonian queens! Long-lost parents! Bone jokes! It's just one big theatrical shot of joy into the sky! A signal to others to come gather 'round, folks! We're doing JOY over here!"
With musical direction by Borgia himself and an on-stage eight-piece band, this production transforms his award-winning audio odyssey into a fully live, richly theatrical event. Featuring a cast of local and regional performers from across the Hudson Valley and beyond, South brings together artists from Catskill, Poughkeepsie, Lexington, Croton-on-Hudson, Warwick, Saratoga, Salem, and NYC. "Not to brag," says Dakin-Dunn, "but the talent in this show... is STACKED."
Though filled with high-seas hijinks and tongue-in-cheek charm, South also carries deeper resonance. "It's a simple journey," Dakin-Dunn adds, "people moving from one place to another, one emotional state to another - told with theatrical invention, literary depth, and thrilling stagecraft. It reminds us that stuff might be tough and weird right now, but we're still alive. We still have a chance. Anything is possible. And when in doubt, always add more ukulele."
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