Debbie Does Dallas at the Parliament House.

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Debbie Does Dallas, directed by Adam McCabe, choreographed by Michelle Alagna, and with

musical direction by Tim Evanicki, takes a cult classic porn film and turns it into a tongue-in-cheek musical. For some light-hearted sassy fun, this is a show perfectly suited to play at the Footlight Theatre at the Parliament House (410 N Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, Florida 32805).

The show is the coming-of-age story of an all-American
small-town sweetheart named Debbie Benton (Takara Lee Anderson). She
is the captain of her high-school cheerleading team, but she dreams of
making it to the big time by becoming a Texas Cowgirl Cheerleader. When
Debbie receives a letter telling her she has qualified for the
professional squad, the only thing that stands between her and the
realization of her dream is bus fare to the big city of Dallas.

Debbie
enlists her teammates, Lisa (Ale Martinez), Roberta (Sarah O), Donna
(Jasha Vaughn) and Tammy (Katie Ford), to get jobs after
school and on weekends to help pay for her trip to Dallas. The girls
form a company called Teen Services and get jobs, but they quickly
realize minimum-wage jobs just don’t pay enough. Luckily, Debbie’s boss,
Mr. Greenfelt, has an idea how the girls can raise enough money in
time. Debbie tells the girls about Mr. Greenfelt’s idea, and they all
agree to try their hands at “little favors” performed with enthusiasm by
“good girls.”

If the girls “work hard for the money” through
sex, sweat and tears, could they manage to raise enough money for Debbie
to realize her dream and make it to Dallas? Also starring Tripp Karhh
and Jonathan Speagle playing multiple roles in frantic quick-change
madness, Debbie Does Dallas is a wild time at the theater.

Having never seen the cult classic film, we decided to watch the film the same evening after seeing the show. The intricate plot is followed to the letter, but the endless sex scenes are replaced by many black out scene changes and some fun musical numbers. The romp in the locker room shower was well choreographed with towels hiding the sweet bits as the actors and actresses exposed themselves to each other. All the cheer leaders did have an orgy scene that played out behind a back lit sheet that allowed the audience to imagine what the shadows implied. The funniest moment came when Debbie relents and accepts $10 cash to expose herself to her boss. He offers a bit more, and each time she goes off into her Disney style “I have a Dream” song. It was truly laugh out loud funny.

By the time you read this, Debbie will have sadly retired her pom poms. Upcoming shows at the Footlight Theater are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 10 pm and 12 am.  Additionally, A T-Dance Revue Show is in the Disco on
Sundays at 7 pm.

Mark Your Calendar. On December 1st – December 30th,  The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told  by Paul Rutnick and directed by Tommy Wooten will hit the Footlight stage. A stage manager, (Beth Marshall), headset and prompt book at hand, brings the house
lights to half, then dark, and cues the creation of the world.
Throughout the play, she’s in control of everything. In other words,
she’s either God, or she thinks she is. Act One recounts the major
episodes of the Old Testament, only with a twist: Instead of Adam and
Eve, our lead characters are Adam (Brett McMahon)  and Steve (Jerry Jobe), and Jane (Shanel Sparr) and Mabel (Camilla Camillo), a
lesbian couple with whom they decide to start civilization (procreation
proves to be a provocative challenge). Act One covers the Garden of
Eden, an ark, a visit with a highly rambunctious Pharaoh and finally
even the Nativity. Along the way, Mabel and Adam invent God, but Jane
and Steve are skeptical. This brings about the flood, during which Steve
has a brief affair with a rhinoceros and invents infidelity. No longer
blissful, Adam and Steve break up only to be reunited as two of the wise
men at the Nativity.

Act Two jumps to modern day Manhattan. Adam and Steve are together
again, and Steve is HIV positive. It’s Christmas Eve, and Jane is nine
months pregnant even though she always thought of herself as the butch
one. The two women want to marry and want Adam and Steve to join them in
the ceremony. A wheelchair-bound, Jewish lesbian Rabbi from cable
access TV arrives to officiate. The ceremony is interrupted as Jane
gives birth, and Steve confides to Adam that his medication isn’t
working and that he’ll probably not survive much longer. Bound by their
long life together, and the miracle of birth they’ve just witnessed, the
two men comfort each other even though they know their remaining time
together will be short. It sounds like some existential fun for the holidays.

Oklahoma!

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On September 6th I went to the final performance of Oklahoma at the Northland Church (530 Dog Track Road Longwood FL). Since I had already sketched the huge stage, I rushed up for a front row seat on stage right. As people continued to filter in, I started sketching in the stage. I knew how the opening act would unfold so I had a good idea where the actors would be staged. There was also a lone stool onstage which became the scenes anchor. A mother and her little girl sat to my right. I apologized to her that I’d be sketching for much of the show. She didn’t mind. As a matter of fact, her little girl was scribbling much of the time as well.

Aunt Eller played by Alice Smetheram sat in the stool.  The romance between Curly and Laurey played by Wes Miller and Cassidy Tompkins, became obvious though they jokingly tease each other. Their teasing turns to an argument and Aunt Eller shouts out “Why don’t you just kiss her?” 
Curly asked Laurey to go to a box social dance with him that night, but she refuses, feeling that Curly
had waited too long. He attempts to persuade her by telling her that he
will take her in the finest carriage money can buy, “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top“,
but she teases him about it until he says he made it up to get back at
her, and Laurey flounces off, not realizing that Curly really has rented
such a rig.

A lonely farm hand named Jud, played by Tim Evanicki, becomes obsessed with Laurey and he asks her to the dance. She accepts to spite Curly although she is terrified of Jud.  Tim’s performance was amazing. He must have operatic training and he was always a menacing presence. The Orlando Ballet collaborated with Central Florida Community Arts to bring about a graceful dream ballet as Laurey as she lamented her choice of suitors.

The production was painfully long and I discovered that my choice in seats meant staring at backsides during the more crowded scenes at the box social. With an army of performers however, it was easy to get swept away by the music. Mark your Calendar! On September 20 and 21 at 7:30 and September 22 at 6:30 CFC Arts will be presenting The Music of Rogers & Hammerstein at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater. Tickets are $10 at the door. The Orlando Ballet 2013 season will kick off with “Tribute” on October 18-20th at the Bob Carr.

Central Florida Theater Community Potluck

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There is an undeniable irony that the semi-quarterly July Theater Potluck dinner was held at Starving Artist Studios, (801 Orienta Ave, Suite 1000, Altamonte Springs, FL). The potluck was held Sunday, June 24th from 7pm – 10pm. There was a torrential rain storm on my drive up I-4. I figured the rain might thin the crowd, but when I entered, the place was packed.

Starving Artist Studios, run by Tim Evanicki is a brand new facility that teaches dance, acting and music. Each room is themed after an area of NYC.  The room where I settled in to sketch had pictures of Union Square on the walls. A large mirror lined one wall, so this room was set up for dance. All the walls were freshly painted and several rooms had pianos and drum sets.

Everyone brought a plate of great food, drink or dessert. There was plenty to choose from. Conversations bristled as people shared good times and good conversation with friends from our theatre community. This wasn’t about performing, this wasn’t even about networking. It was a chance for people to be themselves and take a moment to breathe with all the people making our Central Florida Performing Arts Community VITAL! I kept bumping into people I know in the food line. John DiDonna joked with me about sketching. “Can’t you put the pencil down just once and have a drink and relax?” “I’ll relax as soon as I finish this one sketch, I promise.”

In the next room, Terry Olson started a theater trivia game. He said, “Name a theater production that features rain!” “Singing in the rain!” someone shouted back. “A Steady Rain!” “Rain on Broadway!” “The Diviners!” “Twelfth Night!” The answers kept coming. These theater folk know their stuff.

Tonight is Third Thursday.  “Granted“, at the City Arts Factory (9 South Orange Avenue), is a showcase for artists who had grants from United Arts.  I received a grant last year to help  with the expense of art supplies for this blog. Three of my sketches will be on display and for sale. The work will be on display through September 14th.