Book Susan L. Schwartz Playwright Erica Schmidt | Originally published 2004 | |
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Productions 2002 Off-Broadway2004 Australia2005 Dallas2006 San Francisco | ||
Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical is an Off-Broadway musical with a book by Susan L. Schwartz, composed by Andrew Sherman, with Tom Kitt and Jonathan Callicutt providing additional music and lyrics. It is based on the 1978 pornographic film Debbie Does Dallas. The musical, like the movie, centers on high schooler Debbie and her friends' attempts to become Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders; however, the musical contains far less sexual content than the movie. The original Off-Broadway choreography was by Jennifer Cody.
The show had its first run at the New York Fringe Festival. It was originally conceived and produced by Schwartz, who also starred as Debbie. The Araca Group bought the rights to produce the piece and opened it as a musical in 2002 at the Jane Street Theater in New York City. Sherie Rene Scott starred in the musical as Debbie. Since its Off-Broadway run, other productions have taken place, notably in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia (2004) with Ben Steel, in Dallas, Texas (2005), in San Francisco, California (2006) and in Los Angeles, California (2008) with Dylan Vox.
Unlike the original movie, the musical does not contain any actual sex or nudity.
The show has been performed around the world, often with racier direction and more explicit choreography. The story, dialogue and characters are fairly faithful to the original film, with musical numbers standing in for sex scenes or added for comic effect.