Debbie does Wilmington

It wasn't really planned this way, but theater troupe City Stage owes its best-attended season to date, at least in part, to sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.

First up us was the marijuana comedy Reefer Madness in October, which was followed by the rock opera Tommy. Now it's time to finish off the season with Debbie Does Dallas, a musical spoof based on the famous adult film. It opens tonight and runs through March 30.

But even for a company known for pushing the theatrical envelope - previous City Stage hits include cross-dressing cult classic The Rocky Horror Show (which they've performed three times), David Sedaris' foul-mouthed Santaland Diaries (five times) and slasher spoof Zombie Attack! (twice) - Debbie might be the farthest the company has ever gone.

The plot of the play, which debuted at the New York Fringe Festival in 2001 and had a subsequent off-Broadway run, follows that of the movie. Debbie is on a quest to join the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. But after she makes the squad, her parents refuse to give her money to make the big move to Dallas, so Debbie and her friends join forces to do odd jobs for a company they call "Teen Services."

"Our jobs turn into being a little more than jobs," said local stage standout Kendra Goehring, who's in the titular role of Debbie. "We pretty much sell our bodies."

Ingeniously, every sex scene in the movie is replaced with a song in the musical, and Goehring, whose fabulous voice is as powerful as it is lovely, gets no fewer than seven solos as Debbie works her way to the top of the cheerleading tower by any means necessary.

Along the way, much of the dialogue from the original plays gets used, but "there's obviously far less dialogue in the movie than there is in the play," said City Stage artistic director Justin Smith, who's directing Debbie.

A number of characters have been added, and taking on 15 male roles are Sam Robison, Cullen Moss and the workhorse Anthony Lawson, who's already in the midst of his fourth play this year. Along with Sandy Summers, who plays one of Debbie's cheerleading buddies, Robison and Moss are members of Changing Channels, a bawdy sketch comedy troupe that performed weekly for years and still gets up the occasional show (their next is March 13 at City Stage).

Goehring doesn't seem to be an obvious choice for Debbie, but she's arguably Wilmington's only true triple threat, so casting her is a no-brainer for any director.

She's played plenty of leading roles, mostly pure, sweet-hearted girls like Charity (Sweet Charity), Belle (Beauty and the Beast) and Millie (Thoroughly Modern Millie) at Thalian Hall.

"When I heard what they were doing I was like, 'Uh, that's not something I'm going to be about,'●" Goehring said.

But after she read the script, heard the songs and liked them, it was just a matter of convincing her family. "My mom kind of had reservations, but she got over it, and my grandmother was just like, 'Well, Kendra, that's just who you are; you do things that are out there,'●" Goehring said. She then paused, before adding, "My dad's not allowed to come."

For his part, Smith said he sees an intriguing combination of sweetness and naughtiness in Goehring, with whom he performed in both The Rocky Horror Show and Beauty and the Beast.

Smith said he's heard from City Stage patrons who are "either excited or nervous" about seeing the show: "This pushes the envelope farther than we've ever pushed it, but I believe that if you have an open mind there will be no more enjoyable experience. I mean, (the cast is) all hitting it on every level."

John Staton: 343-2343

john.staton@starnewsonline.com