Reviews for DEBBIE DOES DALLAS, THE MUSICAL at The Orlando Fringe Festival 2010

From THE LEDGER (Orlando)

In case you did not already know it, the Orlando Fringe Festival is quite different from the year round theatrical and artistic fare you might get during the other 50 weeks of the year. Usually, the original pieces written for festivals of this type seem to work best while jamming an existing theater piece into this artistic quilt is usually not as successful. Thankfully, Debbie Does Dallas is an exception to the rule.

The entire cast is wonderful and up for the challenge. Mason adds the perfect touches of earnestness and mindlessness where needed and her voice does much to compliment the shows songs. Gracey plays the perfect teen jock, led in most of his actions by the part of his body north of his knees and south of his waist line. Almost stealing the show is Katie Hammond as Lisa, the libidinous cheerleader who provides competition for Rick’s attention while cracking up audiences with her borderline speech impediments. Eric Pinder (Mr. Hardwick/Senor Bradley/Mr. Bigtime) adds his usual hilarity in multiple roles while Mike Carr scores (sorry, couldn’t resist) in his portrayal of Mr. Greenfelt. How good is Carr? Well, if you ever thought that Jimmy Stewart sexually taking advantage of a teenage girl down on her luck could not be funny, he’ll prove you wrong.

In short, put this one on your must see list for Fringe!

From THE ORLANDO SENTINEL,Reviewed by Matthew J. Palm

Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical is at its heart (or other organ) a one-trick pony: There’s the shock value of teen girls selling themselves to follow a dream of professional cheerleading. And there’s … well, that’s really all there is to the source material.

But the Warren Acting Co. has wrung every last laugh out of that once trick. And the combination of a talented cast, perfect costuming, high-energy direction, clever music cues — even the creative way the set pieces are moved, for heaven’s sake — makes this raunchy comedy-musical much better than it deserves to be.

Melissa Mason is appealing as the perky — and morally ambiguous — Debbie, but it’s Debbie’s frenemy, the vapid Lisa (the hysterical Katie Hammond), who gets the biggest laughs with her slack-jawed Valley Girl speech.

And an Eric Pinder tap number about … an adult subject, let’s say … brings the house down. That’s the key to dirty little Debbie: The raunchier it gets, the funnier it gets.

From Orlando Weekly, reviewed by Seth Kubersky

The musical follows the original skin flick's plot (such as it is) almost precisely. Debbie Benton (Melissa Mason), virginal captain of her high-school cheerleading team, has an audition to fulfill her fantasy of becoming a Texas Cowgirl Cheerleader. Only her blue-balled boyfriend (John Gracey) and a lack of traveling money stand between Debbie and her Dallas dreams. So her vampish "frenemy" Lisa (a hilariously hissing Katie Hammond) and fellow teammates help Debbie earn cash by creating a business called “Teen Services” (insert obligatory hand flourish here) and offering their ample abilities to any man with a Hamilton in his pocket. Along the way, they are engaged by lotharios like a tap-dancing Eric Pinder and a Don King–wigged Michael Carr in exuberant (if fully-clothed) orgies set to a pop-pastiche soundtrack.

The Executives won the Patron's Choice Awards for "The Best Sketch Show" as well as the "Best Show In The Green Venue" at the Orlando Fringe Festival 2009. They'd like to thank TheDailyCity.com and the Orlando community for voting!

Review for The Orlando Fringe Festival 2009

‘The Executives Present: Free Kittens!’ – The Executives

By Elizabeth Maupin - Orlando Sentinel
Sentinel Theater Critic

TV sketch comedy has let us down far too long, so if a sketch-comedy show hits more than half the time, somebody’s doing something right. Some of those somebodies are the Executives, who return to the Fringe with a show called Free Kittens – intermittently hilarious, frequently ingenious and mostly a pretty swell time.

The first two or three bits may do nothing for you, but just wait for the Messengers of Darkness, three guys (Mike Carr, Charles Gray and Chase Padgett) with flashlights who’ll tell you’re evil and should go STRAIGHT TO HELL. A TV commercial for a car dealership features the owner’s scary granddaughter, and another ad – for a place called JC Fitness – turns out to have a n owner who can really pump you up.

Some of Free Kittens may be mystifying, especially for those of you who don’t fit the Gen-Y age demographic. But the Executives – who also include Summer Aiello, Katie Hammond and Jaime Jessup – deliver everything they promise, and they even tie it up neatly at the end. TV should be so lucky.

"Their [performance] was my favorite of the Preview and the entire show was pretty strong. Several very clever bits, especially the beach pail and shovel. So minimalist and funny.The more simple the idea, they better they did with it. Good laughs and pretty decent crowd for the tough-to-get-to 6:00 show. That Katie is going to be a standout. You can just tell the naturals from those who really have to work at it.Great first effort from all of them."

www.bloggingfringe.com

'TV iMature' -- The Executives

By Rebecca Swain
Orlando Sentinel

Even good sketch comedy can be a hit or miss proposition. So while the Executives may not hit every one out of the park in their production TV iMature, their batting average is still way better than a typical night of SNL.

Led by local performer Chase Padgett, the Executives rip through 10 fast-paced skits with enough energy to make the good stuff pop and the not-so-good work anyway. Yes, several of them earn the TV MA label, but at least the group starts strong and end strong.

The line-up kicks off with a reality-TV spoof featuring a deliciously odd religious dance competition where the celebrity guest judges almost steal the show. At the end is a Mexico-themed-version of Cash Cab that has a fabulous twist for a punch line, and a finale that will have the theme song from Dirty Dancing stuck in your head for the rest of the afternoon.

In between are skits that work and some that don't: bad boozy friends, classic movie monsters that might be gay, pinworms (a scene almost stolen by a talking-worm puppet that sort of makes intestinal parasites cute), interior dating monologues, the melancholy thoughts of abandoned beach toys, a sex-deprived radio hostess, and Wicked-obsessed fan-girls.

This is straight-up sketch comedy and a good pick for the end of your Fringing day. Plus, you can be sure that if one of these actors freezes on stage the result will be hilarious.