THE 2001 NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL
August 10 through 26
sloe-eyed productions presents
DEBBIE DOES DALLAS
Directed by Brock Enright
The Players
Susan L. Schwartz - Allison Du Val - Ariel Sheldon - Renata Hinrichs
Theresa Young - Tonya Canada - Jill Madeo - Marian Heller - Gary Widlund
Tim Beemer - Matthew Armstrong - Ross Steeves - Bryant MacMillan
Jonathan Hyland - Adam Chandler - Theodore Bouloukos
SET DESIGN: Matthew Ronay
COSTUME DESIGN: Daphne Javitch
LIGHTING DESIGN: Jeff McCrum
SOUND ENGINEER: Ben Brantley
MUSICIANS: Marian Heller, Brian Collins, Matthew Ronay
STAGE MANAGER: Kevin Gillespie
ASM/PROPS: Stacey McMath
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: Yolanda Thomas
RUNNING CREW: Catherine Wallach
Billed as a stage version of the 1970's porno film of the same name, this recreated DEBBIE DOES DALLAS would have been vitally served by a huge dose of adaptation, and a heavy hand on the verbatim reins. What could have been a creative, innovative romp on the retro side is hopelessly choppy and incoherent.
Film and theater are, by nature, disparate realms. Stories can cross their respective boundaries, but not unaltered. A cheesy X flick, with the proverbial quick cuts and rapid scene changes works for that genre. To copy that on stage, by playing out the slimmest of scenes, with changes of scenery, no less, makes no sense stylistically (even when the scene pieces, as here, are comic strip-like cardboard cutouts). Theater should never seek to be film, and vice versa.
Had the originators of this project endeavored to adapt their source material rather than simply do a live recreation, this DEBBIE DOES DALLAS could be rather a winning jaunt. There is much to amuse here, and some solid moments in spite of the quicksand foundation.
- Kessa De Santis -