By Emly Chackerian
There’s no muse like the sea. For centuries, it has inspired poems, novels, operettas, and songs sung by anthropomorphic crabs. But for the crooning sailors in a niche selection of movie musicals, it’s land that holds allure. The protagonists of films like On the Town and Anchors Aweigh call ships home, but they know that life’s pleasures are found ashore, where there are cities to explore, women to woo, and adventures to stumble upon.
It’s these movies that Milo Cramer lovingly spoofs in their unabashedly silly show, No Singing in the Navy, now playing Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons. The musical follows three sailors as they spend 24 hours on land before being shipped off to war (where it’s repeatedly stated they’ll die). The captain gives them one rule before they disembark: no singing. But like their naval forefathers (Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly), the sailors are unable to resist.
Some jokes land, others go overboard
No Singing in the Navy is, at its core, ridiculous. As the three unnamed sailors, Bailey Lee, Ellen Nikbakht, and Elliot Sagay, function like a well-oiled machine, cracking jokes at a pace that makes a giggle-prone audience sound like a laugh track. Cramer, director Aysan Celik, and the cast—all alumns from the same graduate school—wear that camaraderie openly. There’s a StarKid-ish, Pythonesque quality that rewards audiences willing to meet it halfway. The style, however, may feel insular for those who either don’t know the source material or can’t buy into the absurdity.
When it works, Cramer strikes a captivating balance of humor and sincerity. In one scene, a ‘lighthouse lady,” oblivious to two of the sailors’ antics behind her, sings of self-worth as the pair engages in a slapstick fight—an endearing reflection of the absurdity of life’s ups and downs. But when the comedy verges on nonsensical, including a belabored secondary plot about a crab, No Singing in the Navy loses its momentum.
Toeing the line between earnest and silly requires deft navigation. Though No Singing in the Navya ocassionally veers off-course, the heart at its center holds steady.
Is ‘No Singing in the Navy’ worth seeing?
3 out of 5 stars
Milo Cramer’s sailor spoof No Singing in the Navy is uneven but oddly winning—the best kind of inside joke if you’re willing to play along.
- Playwrights Horizons, 416 W 42nd Street, New York City
- Notable performers: Bailey Lee, Ellen Nikbakht, and Elliot Sagay
- Running time: 80 minutes, no intermission
- Performances through April 19, 2026
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