Jim Wise (April 24, 1919 – November 13, 2000) was an American musical composer and English professor. He is known for the musical ''

Dames at Sea ''Dames at Sea'' is a 1966 musical with book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller and music by Jim Wise. The musical is a parody of large, flashy 1930s Busby Berkeley-style movie musicals in which a chorus girl, newly arrived off the ...

'', as well as his contributions to the New Jersey Institute of Technology's Theater.

Early life

Wise was born in Akron, Ohio in 1919 as James Newton Wise. After graduating from

Wooster College The College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio. Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian Church as the University of Wooster, it has been officially non-sectarian since 1969 when ownership ties with the Presbyterian Churc ...

in 1941 with a degree in Classical Languages, he served in the Army’s Public Relations Division during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He began his M.A. in English Literature at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

"Jim Wise, 81, Writer Of Show Tune Hits"
''The New York Times'', November 25, 2000 upon returning to the U.S. in 1946. Wise completed his M.A. in 1948 and taught at Columbia’s School of General Studies from 1950–1952.

Career

He began working at Newark College of Engineering (NJIT) (now known as

New Jersey Institute of Technology {{Infobox university , name = {{nowrap, New Jersey Institute of Technology , image = New Jersey IT seal.svg , image_upright = 0.9 , former_names = Newark College of Engineering (1930–1975)Ne ...

) in 1955, where he taught English and Drama until his retirement in 1989."Theatre Arts and Technology"
theater.njit.edu, accessed April 18, 2016 In May 1966, ''Dames at Sea'' opened

off-off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the prof ...

at the

Café Cino Joseph Cino (November 16, 1931 – April 2, 1967), was an Italian-American theatre producer. The Off-Off-Broadway theatre movement is generally credited to have begun at Cino's Caffe Cino in the West Village of Manhattan. Caffe Cino and off-of ...

, located in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, under the title ''Dames at Sea'' or ''Golddiggers Afloat''. The musical is parody of musicals from the 1920s and 1930s, ''Dames at Sea''. Newcomer

Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress, singer, and children's book author. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo co ...

, starring as “Ruby", got her start in this musical.Jones, Kenneth
"'Dames at Sea' Composer Jim Wise is Dead at 81"
playbill.com, November 14, 2000 The musical re-opened under the title ''Dames at Sea'' in the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

Bouwerie Lane Theatre on December 20, 1968 and then transferred to the Theatre De Lys on April 22, 1969, where it played until its closing on May 10, 1970, with a total of 575 performances. The musical won the 1969 Outer Critics Circle Award, Best Off-Broadway Musical. ''Dames at Sea'' was revived at Manhattan’s Lamb’s Theatre in 1985, at NJIT in 1989, and on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in 2015. In 1988 Wise founded the Allardice-Wise Scholarship at Wooster College in memory of his friend and classmate

James B. Allardice James B. Allardice (March 20, 1919 – February 15, 1966) was an American television comedy writer of the 1950s and 1960s. Biography James Burns Allardice Jr. was born to James Burns Allardice, a native of Scotland, and Lucinda (Lula) Masters G ...

. The scholarship continues to be awarded, on the basis of a competitive audition, to a senior Theatre major who has demonstrated exceptional talent and interest in theatre. During his lifetime, Wise sat in on the auditions and helped pick the scholars. He endowed an annual scholarship at NJIT "to students with outstanding academic records and contributions to NJIT Theatre." A theatre at NJIT is named for him. Wise wrote the musical ''Yankee Ingenuity'' in 1976, and the children's musical ''Olaf Who Never Walked But Always Danced'' with Don Price, in 1997. He also wrote "specialty material" for performers including Dodi Goodman and Gloria DeHaven.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, Jim 1919 births 2000 deaths American musical theatre composers Musicians from Akron, Ohio 20th-century American composers United States Army personnel of World War II