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    • Paul Atreides
      • Jul 10, 2016
      • 3 min read

    EMAV Review: Debbie Does Dallas is fearless fun ★★★★☆



    ★★★★☆ - Delicious

    I’m not entirely sure how Troy Heard, Artisitic and Managing Director of the Onyx Theatre, does it. He takes ridiculousness and turns it into rousing hilarity, and just plain fun. His latest foray into silly is “Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical.”

    Erica Schmidt, Andrew Sherman, and Susan L. Schwartz adapted the adult film classic to the stage for the 2001 New York International Fringe Festival, and the 2002 Off-Broadway run. The plot is still as thin and trite as any porn video you’ve ever seen—not that this reviewer has seen any; well, okay not that many—but the three creators have infused their script and lyrics with a bit of redeeming soul.

    On a bare stage with a backdrop of a center scrim painted as lined notebook paper, flanked by drops created with netting and silver streamer curtains, the action takes us to multiple locations in quick scenes. This leaves plenty of room for the exuberant choreography of Kady Heard and Ronnie Lloyd Nanos, and for them to throw in plenty of suggestive movement for comic effect.

    Now, most people who haven’t seen it think the movie was about Debbie “doing” the entire Dallas Cowboys football team. But the actual plot was Debbie, who’s been accepted as a Texas Cowgirls cheerleader, and her high school chums trying to raise enough money to get to Dallas.

    The entire cast does a terrific job. Director Heard has them going over-the-top, playing directly to the audience at chosen moments, and it works. The further into the show the more blatant the sexual content becomes, and he hasn’t allowed the cast to back down for a minute.

    Christina Balonek plays Debbie deliberately kittenish. She succeeds in invoking and maintaining her “good girl” status and innocence, right up to the end of her virginity. Her high school pals are played by Nicole Unger (Donna), Kady Heard (Roberta), Brenna Folger (Tammy), and Amanda Kraft (Lisa). Heard and Kraft play, with finesse, the girls willing to satisfy their boyfriend’s sexual urges. Unger brings gravelly undertones to Donna that works to set her between the girls who will and the girls who won’t. Folger’s role is the girl who won’t, with glasses and speech impediment adding to her character’s innocent façade.

    These five women all play the typical teenagers with the kind of actions and intonation one would expect, invoking Valley Girl speak and “Legally Blonde”-type characterizations. Yet, they find ways to differentiate; they don’t become clones of one another.

    The men take on multiple characters; the members of the high school football team and various men who hire the girls to do odd jobs, and then end up paying for a variety of “services.” As they up the ante, and further empty their wallets, they deliver the standout performances.

    Ben Stobber as Rick, and again (though I refuse to give anything away) as Mr. Hamilton, is an absolute hoot. At times, his Rick reminds us of Keanu Reeves but it adds to the humor. Matthew Antonizick as Mr. Hardwick delivers “A Candle Works For You,” with a wonderfully smooth baritone, and is joined by the girls in a dance number that will forever conjure new images whenever you look at a candle again. And, Andrew Young is hilarious in his roles of Mr. Greenfelt and Mr. Biddle.

    Don’t be mistaken: This is mature content. But, without the ability to make the characters silly but real, the play wouldn’t work. Performances must be deliberately over-the-top, but not so much that we lose all perspective. It’s the absolute fearlessness of the entire cast to do just that which makes this show fun, and makes it all work.

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    On a side note: The Onyx Theatre has just concluded their tenth season. In Las Vegas, that’s a milestone to crow about. It’s also found them at a crossroads. As happens with most artistic endeavors, the deep pockets of the original patron(s) do have a bottom. The Onyx team has a new Board of Directors, has filed for 501(c)3 status and, with the assistance of a fiscal agent that immediately makes donations tax deductible, needs your help to stand on its own. After ten solid years, the company deserves it. Contact the theatre for more information.

    What: Debbie Does Dallas

    When: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday through July 23

    5 p.m. Sunday July 10, 17

    Where: Onyx Theatre, 953-16B E Sahara Avenue

    Tickets: $23 (702-732-7225; www.onyxtheatre.com)

    Grade: **** (Delicious)

    Producer: Off-Strip Productions; Director: Troy Heard; Set Design: Harry Reams; Costume Design: Cari Byers; Lighting Design: Corey Covell; Sound Design: Don Parnall; Music Director: Andrew Young; Stage Manager: Corey Covell

    #onyxtheatre #Downtown #Theatre #Atreides #Review

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    • Eat More Art Vegas
      • Jul 8, 2016
      • 1 min read

    Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical @Onyx Theatre



    Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical

    Based on the 1970s Cinematic Classic! Debbie Benton is everybody's favorite Girl Next Door with an All-American Dream - of becoming a Texas Cowgirl Cheerleader! When she gets accepted, she has a week to raise the money to get to Dallas. With the help of her friends - all good girls - they form Teen Services, an odd-job company that lends a VERY helping hand to the neighborhood men... You'll Laugh! You'll Cry! You'll Be Embarrassed to Stand Up After the Show! Introducing Christina Balonek as DEBBIE BENTON With Amanda Kraft, Nicole Unger, Brenna Folger, Kady Heard, Andrew Young, Matt Antonizick, and Ben Stobber as RICK

    Tickets $23.00 ($24.80 w/service fee)

    onyxtheatre.com

    Directed by Troy Heard


    #Listing #onyxtheatre #Theatre

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    • Paul Atreides
      • Jun 21, 2016
      • 3 min read

    EMAV Review: A Few Good Men Deliver Many Excellent Performances ★★★★



    ★★★★☆ - Delicious

    Most productions of Aaron Sorkin’s brilliantly scripted “A Few Good Men” deliver an imitation of the film. Let’s jump off the ledge, and get to it. That’s not the case here.

    As directed by Joe Hynes for Magnolia Productions, the current offering at the Onyx stays true to the script without mimicry. LtJG Daniel A. Kaffee and Lt Col Nathan R. Jessup are two of the most instantly recognizable characters in film history; the courtroom scene one of the most iconic. Ryan Remark (Kaffee) and Glenn Heath (Jessup) make these characters their own.

    Remark brings an easy swagger to his role, without coming off as the snotty, entitled Harvard grad. He’s genuine, he’s funny, and you can’t help but like him, which is why Kaffee gets away with his behavior. Remark is spot on through the entire journey. The changes take place not just because of the words but because of the way Remark brings the physical to his role. You can see the changes taking place slowly, his transitions are smooth and come as reactions to the experiences.

    Heath makes Jessup a real person. Jessup still comes across as the demanding, condescending bully, the man who thinks the insignia on his collar is all that’s needed to deserve respect. When the courtroom scene comes along–the one every audience member waits for with glee–Heath makes the now-iconic lines his own. He brings indignation and anger to the role. We still hate the character as we should, but Heath adds layers of hurt and confusion to the mix and remind us Jessup is still a human being.

    There’s something about the role of Lt Cdr JoAnne Galloway that Jillian Petrelli misses. There’s a transition that doesn’t fully emerge. That’s not to say Petrelli does a poor job. She takes ownership, using the entire instrument at her disposal. She’s properly indignant, overly-zealous at the start and loosens up at the end, but we don’t see it slowly evolve in repartee with Kaffee.

    Gregory Gaskill, as Lt Jack Ross, brings a confidence to the role that slowly erodes as he realizes his case is falling apart. Each time he offers a deal his stance is just slightly shorter, the shoulders droop a tiny bit more. His stunned reaction in the courtroom reaches his feet. Yet, he remains every bit the Marine as he moves to execute his duty.

    This is a large cast and Hynes chose his actors well. The entire company does a very credible job. Of particular note are Alexander C. Sund as LCprl Harold Dawson and Devin Samarin as PFC Louden Downey. These two characters get the least amount of attention, yet they are the cog around which everything revolves; they are the defendants whose lives are on the line. Samarin and Sund are on stage a good bit of the time without dialogue, and both actors are always in the scene. They listen, they react. When the two deliver the most poignant lines of the entire play, it’s enough to make you want jump out of your seat and hug them.

    The average theatre-goer most likely won’t notice, but pointing out flaws is my job. Details are important. Rank insignia are wrong or missing entirely, and officer’s uniforms would never be anything but crisply-ironed. When Lt Junior Grade Kaffee comes on stage with the same shoulder insignia as Lt Commander Galloway, it’s noticeable. Rod Dietrich’s (in various roles) wrinkled uniform doesn’t fit; his appearance would get him thrown in the brig or discharged. When Clayton Bailey, playing Lt Sam Weinberg, carries two bottles of beer with the necks precariously tipped toward the floor it immediately snaps us out of the story when he and Remark drink from them because we know they’re empty.

    One overlooked detail dilutes two very integral scenes. At the very beginning, Dawson and Downey salute Kaffee, it then gets left out in subsequent scenes. So, when Kaffe asks later, “What happened to saluting an officer?” and Dawson shoves his hands into his pockets in defiance, it feels watered down. At the very end, when Dawson calls himself to attention and delivers a perfectly executed salute, the power behind the act is weakened.

    Gaskill’s set works well on the small stage, and is enhanced by Cory Covell’s lighting. The sound designed by Heath, particularly at the top of the show, immediately conjures the right environment and mood.

    The production overcomes its flaws with very solid performances that make it worth the price of admission.

    What: A Few Good Men

    When: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday through July 3

    5 p.m. Sunday June 19, 26, July 3

    Where: Onyx Theatre, 953-16B E Sahara Avenue

    Tickets: $20 (702-732-7225; www.onyxtheatre.com)

    Grade: **** (Delicious)

    Producer: Magnolia Productions; Director: Joe Hynes; Set Design: Gregory Gaskill; Lighting Design: Cory Covell; Sound Design: Glenn Heath; Stage Manager: Faith Read; Wardobe Alterations: Diana Eden

    #Atreides #Review #onyxtheatre #Theatre

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