"The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"

Theatre review
"The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" at Cortland Repertory Theatre
The Ithaca Journal
July 25, 2008
718 words
"CRT offers a rollicking 'Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'"

full text here

CRT offers a rollicking ‘Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'

By Mark Tedeschi • Special to The Journal • July 25, 2008

If you're at all apprehensive about seeing “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” for the first time, I understand. I had the same sort of concern going into “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” for Cortland Repertory last year — that it could be inappropriate, exploitative, underhanded. (It skirted the line on all three counts, but balanced the precarious with the delightful.)
Advertisement

Two pieces of advice for those who are on the fence about “Best Little...” this summer: see it anyway, and don't worry. It's fun, it's fair, it's rollicking — and it's even poignant.

Kerby Thompson, CRT's producing artistic director, directs “Best Little...”, a musical comedy involving unabashed adult themes and language, with comprehension and insight. He also acts as the Narrator, stepping into character right after his familiar opening remarks. After the “20 Fans” opening, we're acquainted with the, ahem, gentlewomen of the Chicken Ranch, a legal-but-tolerated, ahem, whorehouse in Texas. It's “A Lil' Ole Bitty Pissant Country Place,” the ladies sing, led by their madam, Mona (J. J. Hobbs).

Hobbs plays a convincing leader as Mona, a tough job considering the talent over which she presides: Meredith Van Scoy and Aisling Halpin as newcomers Angel and Shy; Caitlin Sams as Linda Lou; Stephanie Long as Ruby Rae; Brittany Lewis as Beatrice; Kelly Jakiel as Dawn; Laura Keller as Durla; Marissa Dompe as Ginger; and Mitzi Greshawn Smith as Jewel, the ranch maid. Their voices cohere (Ethan Deppe, musical director) and their dance moves dazzle (Daniel B. Hess, choreographer /assistant director).

The Chicken Ranch, so-called because the women eventually began accepting payment in poultry, is based on a real-life Texas brothel that closed in 1973 as a direct result of the investigative journalism by reporter Marvin Zindler. In “Best Little...”, Zindler provides the basis for Melvin B. Thorpe (Michael Kreutz), an energetic if overzealous bewigged TV personality hell-bent on generating strife.

Thorpe presides as the “Mona” over his own group, The Dogettes. We meet them during “The Watchdog Theme,” an a cappella number sung in the dark with nifty flashlight play (Todd Profitt, lighting design). Once the stage illuminates, their baby-blue plaid-jacket uniforms are revealed as just one part of Jennifer Parr's all-around wonderful costume design.

Thorpe's antics antagonize the town sheriff, Ed Earl Dodd, played with attention-grabbing enthusiasm by Scott Wakefield, also a standout in last year's “Trailer Park Musical.” The two have it out behind a giant TV screen set piece (courtesy of scenic designer Jim Bumgardner) and Dodd lets out a passionate stream of colorful language.

Facing immediate public backlash, Dodd endures the pressure of the Texas Governor, a small role stylishly played by Claus Evans (a terrific Tevye in CRT's “Fiddler on the Roof” last summer). Dodd visits the Ranch, where a manner of relationship between him and Mona is revealed.

Throughout the show, Dodd and Mona serve up their share of often easy-but-amusing one-liners penned by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson. Early on, Mona insists to an up-and-comer: “Men ain't all bad — they just 92 percent bad.” (Possibly true.) Dodd, later, muses to a friend: “Women will drive you crazy if you let ‘em.” (That's also true.)

Some of the memorable songs (written and composed by Carol Hall) in “Best Little...” include “The Sidestep,” a riff on political strategy; “24 Hours of Lovin',” a wah-pedal showcase of Mitzi Greshawn Smith's powerhouse vocals; and “The Aggie Song,” a tour de force of boots-on-hands choreography as well as the source of the “fair” comment I made earlier (but will not elaborate on). The Aggies, all doubling as Thorpe cronies, deserve mention: Tim Fuchs, Kyle Hines, Jefferson McDonald, Myles McHale, Michael Morlani, Parker Pogue, Mark Reeve, and Leigh Wakeford.

Occasionally, the momentum hesitates during numbers like “The Bus From Amarillo” and “Doatsey Mae” (sung by Katherine Proctor), two numbers well-performed in their own right but largely inessential to the story's progress.

The final few songs, all pretty while sad, wind the narrative down to an appropriate melancholy. It's no surprise: The real Chicken Ranch was closed without a bang, and presumably, its inhabitants went their own ways. There's no moral punch in the end — more a suggestion of malaise. “Best Little...” respects its audience; It has loads of laughs and judicious commentary, enough to make the trip to the Edward Jones Playhouse worth it.

“The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” runs through Saturday, August 2. Visit www.cortlandrep.org or call (800) 427-6160 for information.