Dames at Sea Star Eloise Kropp on Her Old-School Inspiration and Whiskey & French Fries Obsession

Age: 23

Hometown: Edmond, OK

Current Role: A tap-happy performance as Ruby, a fresh-off-the-bus Broadway wannabe who becomes a bona fide star, in Dames at Sea.

Stage Cred: A fairly recent New York transplant, Kropp has already made her Broadway debut in the recent revival of On the Town as well as racked up credits in Little Me and Most Happy Fella at Encores! Her regional credits include Carousel at Goodspeed and Grease at the Paper Mill Playhouse.

"I started dance in the opposite order of what most people do: I began with tap when I was eight and later added jazz and ballet. I didn’t know you could do it as a profession until I was a teenager. I thought I would be a doctor."

"My first paycheck was $92.35 for being an apprentice at the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma. I was 16 and my parents let me do it because I could drive myself. It was the first time I thought I could [be a professional perfomer]. I made the big bucks all summer."

"I left the University of Oklahoma my junior year. I was hired to do Tuck Everlasting, which was supposed to come to Broadway. I made a decision to move here, and then the show didn’t end up happening. It was a year of growth and figuring things out."

"I’m an old movie person. I look up to Eleanor Powell, Vera-Ellen, Gene Kelly and Ginger Rogers. Those were always my inspirations. [Director/choreographer] Randy Skinner actually worked with Ginger Rogers; it's just crazy. He’s a link to that era.”

"When my friends see the show, they always say I’m like my character. It’s weird: My journey here hasn’t been long; Ruby walks into a Broadway theater and gets a show. She’s put through the ringer, and then shows everyone she can do it. I relate to her."

"I’m always texting people asking, 'Who wants to get whiskey and French fries?' That’s my new thing to do after the show. It’s terrible—I’m usually a really healthy eater. My friends are like, 'Who are you?' I’m like, 'It’s fine; I just tap-danced for two hours!'"