The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

Synopsis

This musical was a smash Broadway hit in '78. The plot is based on the true story of a Texan TV muckraker named Marvin Zindler, who forces embarrassed politicians to close down the legendary La Grange brothel, in business since the 1800's The brothel, known to all as 'The Chicken Ranch' received its title letting poor farmers pay for their pleasure with poultry instead of cash! Saucy, raunchy and great fun, with take-home showstoppers to heartwrenching tear-jerkers.

Our Review:

21 October 2011

The movie version of this show starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds was a big box office success of the 1980s, while the original Broadway production in 1978 ran for over 1500 performances, winning two Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards.

It therefore has ‘hit’ written all over it. But that was then. Now, it seems more of a musical curiosity. In this production at the ever-adventurous Union Theatre, the show seems sentimental and overblown. That is not the fault of the young and very energetic performers – all 24 of them, plus a three-piece band – but of the book by Larry L King and Peter Masterson.

The plot, such as it is, is based on the story of a real Texas brothel and is fairly standard fare. Do-gooders want to close the place down, there is some token resistance, but in the end the two-faced politicians sell out and the good ole Sheriff (James Parkes), who once had a fling with the brothel-owner (Sarah Lark), has to do what t...

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Latest User Review

Gareth James - 7 November 2011:

The mediocrity of the reviews and the indifference of the bloggers meant I wasn’t really looking forward to this, which might have contributed to how much I enjoyed it! It’s true that it’s not a great show – with an undistinguished score and a particularly disappointing downbeat ending – but I thought Paul Taylor-Mills production was terrific, making the most of the material with bucket loads of energy and an infectious enthusiasm. I smiled and laughed an awful lot. The story of how the ‘chicken ranch’ is hounded out of business by a hypocritical alliance of church, media and politicians (nothing changes!) is well-known and of course the ladies are the sympathetic characters and the politicians and media the baddies. Kingsley Hall’s simple set of American flag painted walls (with band costumes to match) and a trio of beds is effective enough, but it’s his excellent costumes which make the show look so good. Richard Jones’ choreography sparkles with wit and invention and the set pieces are electrifying. I thought Sarah Lark would be too young and too sweet for Miss Mona, but that’s not so – she’s very good indeed, particularly in the singing department. There’s a brilliantly funny sheriff from James Parkes and an outrageous (though in truth a bit over-the-top) turn from Leon Craig as the TV man who leads the pack of persecutors. I also much enjoyed Lindsay Scigliano as Doatsey Mae and Jodie Lee Wilde as Dawn. In fact, the whole cast (including the now mandatory Strallen!) is terrific, with the ensemble numbers the high spots of the show. Maybe it’s improved during the run, but for me it was about as much fun as you can have on a Sunday evening with your cloths on. Only one week left to see for yourself....

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