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<p class="" style="line-height:14pt"><b style><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">DEBBIE DOES DALLAS, not for prudes at Blank Canvas</span></b></p>
<p class="" style="line-height:14pt"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Roy Berko</span></p>
<p class="" style="line-height:14pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Palatino;color:black">(Member, American
Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)</span></p>
<p class="" style="line-height:14pt"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">What does an airheaded, good girl from
Beaverton Jesuit High School do when she wants to be a Dallas Cowgirl
professional football team cheerleader, and she gets accepted, but doesnt have
the money to get from Oklahoma to the big city?<span style> </span>She and her cheerleading friends, of course, turn to
prostitution.<span style> </span>That, at least is
the premise of the classic porn flick DEBBIE DOES DALLAS, as well as the
musical based on that flick.<span style> </span>The
latter is now on stage at Blank Canvas.</span></p>
<p class="" style="line-height:14pt"><span style="font-family:Palatino">DEBBIE DOES DALLAS is a 1978 porno film
which starred the infamous Bambi Woods, she of well endowed mammary glands and
long blonde hair. The flick was one of the most important releases during the
Golden Age of Porn, and remains one of the best-known films of that
genre.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="" style="line-height:14pt"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Ironically, Woods tried out for the Dallas
Cowboys Cheerleaders, in real life, but was cut during auditions.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="" style="line-height:14pt"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Starting at the New York Fringe Festival,
the musical, which has a book by Susan Schwartz and music by Andrew Sherman,
Tom Kitt and Jonathan Callicutt, was optioned by Araca, the New York producing
firm headed by Clevelanders Mathew and Michael Rego and Hank Unger.<span style> </span>The trio also produced URINETOWN, THE
MUSICAL, WICKED, FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIRE de LUNE, and ROCK OF
AGES.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="" style="line-height:14pt"><span style="font-family:Palatino">DEBBIE opened off-Broadway in 2002, became
a cult hit, and has been produced in Australia, San Francisco and Los Angeles. </span></p>
<p class="" style="line-height:14pt"><span style="font-family:Palatino">In the musical, we find Debbie Benton
yearning to fulfill her life-long dream of wearing the white and blue star and
fringe covered brief uniform of her beloved Cowgirls.<span style> </span>Debbie enlists her cheermates to get jobs to help her get
enough money to go to Dallas.<span style> </span>But,
of course, with a two-week deadline, and only minimum wage jobs available, they
are quickly frustrated.<span style> </span>Debbies
boss, Mr. Greenfelt, advises her and the other girls to transfer their Teen
Services business into a sex for hire operation.<span style> </span>As happens in all good porn flicks, the girls hit the
jackpot!</span></p>
<p class="" style="line-height:14pt"><span style="font-family:Palatino">For the pure at heart, as is common with
productions of this show, there is no actual sex or full nudity.<span style> </span>Well
there is enough suggestion that
the opening night audience, mostly twenty-somethings, whooped and hollered
during the towels-only locker room scene, male flashing, the several
simulations of oral sex, the female-on-female clothes on orgy, female frontal
penetration with a banana, a wet t-shirt car wash, the horny football players
attempts at teenage groping
okay, there is enough going on that the Romney/Ryan
folk headed for the doors about fifteen minutes into the 90-minute
intermissionless show.</span></p>
<p class="" style="line-height:14pt"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Wisely, director Pat Ciamacco has the cast playing real,
rather than broadly over acting.<span style>
</span>This technique makes the obvious story line, with its sexual innuendoes,
properly ridiculous.<span style> </span>No, this is
not Shakespeare or Noel Coward, but low farce, intended to offend the purist,
and delight the lecherous. </span></p>
<p class="" style="line-height:14pt"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Musical Director Lawrence Wallace and his band play well,
but the music, like the script, is not meant to be great.<span style> </span>Come on, the quickly forgettable songs
have such titles as <i style>Bring It</i>, <i style>Pep Rally</i>, <i style>The Locker Room Orgy</i>, <i style>Ten
Dollars Closer</i>, <i style>God Must Love a Fool</i>,
and <i style>Dallas
Im Coming</i> (and, yes,
thats sung in a high pitched vocal frenzy!).<span style> </span>This is not the likes of <i style>I
Am What I Am</i>, <i style>What I Did for Love</i>,
or <i style>We Go Together</i>.<span style> </span>Though the intent may be somewhat the
same, the effect is different.</span></p>
<p class="" style="line-height:14pt"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Leslie Andrews looks and sounds like the air-headed good
girl Debbie.<span style> </span>She has a nice
singing voice and the right vacant look.<span style>
</span>Tasha Brandt is slut right as Lisa.<span style> </span>Ashley Conlon is fine as the geeky, uptight Tammy. Becca
Frick is right on track as Roberta, the blonde bimbo, and Jordan Renee Malin
does justice to the role of Donna.<span style>
</span>Doug Bailey, Pat Miller and Bill Reichert, in and out of their
clothes,<span style> </span>play all of their
multi-roles as hormone hopping football jocks and the men in the lives of the
cheerleaders, with the right farcical air and mustaches falling off, to the
delight of the viewers.</span></p>
<p class="" style="line-height:14pt"><span style="font-family:Palatino">The production lags due to long set and costume changes, and
languid pacing, but the overall effect, at least judged by the opening night
audience, is positive.</span></p>
<p class="" style="text-autospace:none"><i style><span style="font-family:Palatino">CAPSULE
JUDGMENT:<span style> </span>DEBBIE DOES DALLAS is
the kind of show that will entertain some, irritate others, titillate some,
offend others.<span style> </span>The script, the
production, and the concept has all the makings of a cult musical (thinkTHE
ROCKY HORROR SHOW), mainly aimed at a young, hip audience.</span></i></p>
<p class="" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino">DEBBIE DOES DALLAS runs though December 22 in its west side
theatre, 1305 West 78<sup>th</sup> Street, Suite 211, Cleveland.<span style> </span>Get directions to the theatre on the
website.<span style> </span>(My GPS was of little
help).<span style> </span>Once you arrive at the
site, go around the first building to find the entrance and then follow the
signs to the second floor acting space.<span style>
</span>Its an adventurous battle. For tickets and directions go to <i style><a href="http://www.blankcanvasthetre.com">www.blankcanvasthetre.com</a></i></span></p><p class="" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino"><i style><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"></span><br>
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