'The Adventures of Dex Dixon' is noir, horror and comedy
Stumptown Stages presents the original musical The Adventures of Dex Dixon: Paranormal Dick as part of the Fertile Ground Festival of New Works.
This fully staged premiere is directed by Kirk Mouser and features an all-star cast of characters, including hero Dex Dixon (Steve Coker), femme fatale Nelly Nailor (Sydney Weir), villain Horus (Illya Torres-Garner) and faithful Good Friday secretary Billie Blackthorne (Danielle Valentine). Follow Detective Dex Dixon as he sets off to save a world filled with dolled-up lounge singers, disgruntled vampires and zombies.
Dex Dixon is a paranormal investigator at the start of his career. He lives in Our Fair City, an urban jungle just across a dimensional rift from Nightside, a world populated by the movie monsters of old, from which Dex was exiled 10 years ago. When a mysterious woman arrives requiring his special skills, he finds himself returning to his old haunts and facing an old flame. The Adventures of Dex Dixon is a noir musical, full of horror and comedy as well as puns, guns, vixens, vamps, monsters and mayhem.
The original plan for Dex was to create a 10-part web series designed to lampoon the cliffhanger serials of yesteryear, writer Steve Coker said. The script was written in 10-minute episodes that mashed up many popular genres and always ended with a cliffhanger. After sharing the script with peers and producers, it became clear that Dex could be far more than a simple cheeky web series. ... It seemed only fitting that we produce Dex as a live stage show with classic 40s-era music.
In 2013, Kirk Mouser (Stumptown Stages executive artistic director) and I discussed working together on a new musical. Longtime collaborator KJ McElrath and I sat down and wrote 12 original songs for the new vision of the script and The Adventures of Dex Dixon: Paranormal Dick was finally realized. It has been a long journey, but Dex is finally ready to climb out of the shadows and into the spotlight.
The Adventures of Dex Dixon will be presented Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights Jan. 21-31 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Portland5 Brunish Theatre at Antoinette Hatfield Hall, 1111 S.W. Broadway in Portland. Tickets range in price from $25-$40 and can be purchased by calling the box office at 800-273-1530.