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Robert Dahdah, 89, early Off Broadway writer/director

Robert Dahdah.
Robert Dahdah.

BY MAGIE DOMINIC | Robert (Bob) Dahdah, a prolific writer and director who was a major contributor to the creation of Off Off Broadway theater in the 1960s, and continued writing and directing for more than 50 years, died Feb. 6 at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, where he was under hospice care. He was 89.

Dahdah was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on March 8, 1926, to Lebanese parents. The family moved to New York City when he was a child and lived in Washington Heights.

By the very early 1960s, Dahdah was writing and directing plays in venues in New York City, particularly, Off Off Broadway. In 1966 he directed what would become an iconic Off Off Broadway musical, and one that would be forever famous for starring a very young Bernadette Peters in her first New York musical, “Dames at Sea.”

“Dames at Sea” was first presented at the Caffe Cino on Cornelia St. A tiny cafe theater operated by Joe Cino, The Caffe Cino is considered the birthplace of Off Off Broadway and lasted from 1958 to 1968. Dahdah wrote and directed and starred in several productions there.

“Dames at Sea” was about 40 minutes long and was a takeoff on everything pure and innocent. It ran for three months to over-packed houses. The room was officially full when two people were seated on top of the cigarette machine. It was the longest running show in Caffe Cino’s history and probably the longest running show in the history of Off Off Broadway at that time.

Peters told Broadway.com, regarding Dahdah’s passing and his production of “Dames at Sea,” “He was a terrific director and basically got the show on at the Cino and imbued it with love that transported over the little postage-sized stage right into the audience’s hearts.”

Earlier, in a July 15, 2006, interview for Legends of Broadway, Peters said, “My first summer away from home, I did summer stock in Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania, and I met a choreographer there who worked at the Caffe Cino. When I got back to the city, he called me and said, ‘We’re doing this show at the Caffe Cino, and I think there’s a role you’d be right for. Will you come in?’ I remember thinking that I had to find the Caffe Cino. Because it was on Cornelia St., which is one block long, and I had to find that. When I got there, Helen Hanft was on the stage doing [Tom Eyen’s play] ‘Why Hanna’s Skirt Won’t Stay Down’ for her relatives who were in town that afternoon. That’s where I met the director, Bob Dahdah, and everybody else. I don’t remember if I sang — I must have. Anyway, I took on the role, and I had the best time in my whole life. The audience was so great I couldn’t wait to change and get back onstage to say my lines.”

The following year, Dahdah collaborated with the writer and actress Mary Boylan, with whom he frequently collaborated, and together they wrote the book and score for the musical “Curley McDimple,” a spoof of Shirley Temple movies. Dahdah also directed the production. “Curley McDimple” was produced Off Broadway in 1967, and Peters starred in the production. It ran for more than 900 performances.

Dahdah directed plays by several New York playwrights, including early works by Lanford Wilson, Robert Patrick and Robert Heide.

“I was very close to Robert Dahdah,” Heide said. “He directed my play ‘The Bed,’ which was a big thing at Caffe Cino. That was a year before he discovered Bernadette Peters.

“He lived in Hell’s Kitchen, but he was always down here,” Heide said of Dahdah. “He worked at La MaMa. He was ‘Mr. Off Broadway.’ ”

Magie Dominic, a writer who was part of the 1960s Off Broadway theater scene, said, “I have many personal memories of my friend Bob Dahdah. But my most cherished memory is that he was forever a courteous and supportive friend, and an honorable and true gentleman in a business where those traits are not always a given.”

Similar to Heide, she said, “Bob’s apartment was on 46th St., but he spent his every waking hour on Cornelia St., or at La Mama or Theater for the New City.”

In addition to writing and directing, Dahdah was also an actor and appeared in small roles in a number of major films, including “The Godfather” and “Three Days of the Condor.”

Dahdah was a World War II veteran. He is survived by a nephew, Robert Dahdah, a niece, Rea McKay, and an extended family of friends. He was preceded in death by a sister, Margaret, and two brothers, Raymond and William.

An April tribute is being planned in New York City. Details will be announced at a later date.