The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas


The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall. It is based on a story by King that was inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch in La Grange, Texas.

Production history

Composer Carol Hall was close friends with Eileen Goldman, wife of William Goldman, who was good friends with Peter Masterson. Hall and Masterton discussed doing a musical together - as both were from Texas she proposed adapting The Last Picture Show but Masterton suggested an adaptation of Larry King's story about the Chicken Ranch, that had been published in Playboy magazine. Masterton had read the story while appearing in a production of That Championship Season. King agreed to collaborate although "I didn't think anything would come of it."
Masterton and his wife Carlin Glynn were members of the Actor's Studio and in late 1976 they presented four scenes as a workshop production. This was well received and Lee Strasberg agreed that they finished the musical the Actors Studio would finance a showcase production. Around a year later the show started at the Actor's Studio with Henderson Forsythe and Carlin Glynn in the leads. Response was extremely favorable with many celebrities attending performances. William Goldman brought Stephanie Phillips, an executive at Universal; that studio offered to finance an off-Broadway production with a budget of $400,000 enabling Tommy Tune to be hired to co direct with Masteron.
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas opened off-Broadway at the Entermedia Theatre on April 17, 1978. Response was again very strong. It reopened on Broadway at the 46th Street Theatre on June 19, 1978, and ran for 1,584 performances until March 27, 1982. The production was directed by Peter Masterson and Tommy Tune and choreographed by Tune and Thommie Walsh. The opening cast included Carlin Glynn, Henderson Forsythe, Jay Garner, Joan Ellis, Delores Hall, and Pamela Blair. Glynn was replaced by Fannie Flagg and Anita Morris later in the run.
Alexis Smith starred as Miss Mona in the first U.S. National Tour, from September 1979 through February 1981, with stops in major cities from Boston to Los Angeles.
The Sydney production opened at Her Majesty's Theatre on 13 September 1980. Produced by J. C. Williamson Ltd, it starred Lorraine Bayly as Miss Mona and Alfred Sandor as Sherriff Ed Earl Dodd, with Mona Richardson as Jewel, Judi Connelli as Doatsy Mae and Peter Whitford as the Governor.
The West End production opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on February 26, 1981. Produced by Bernard Delfont, it again starred Carlin Glynn and Henderson Forsythe, with Miquel Brown as Jewel and Betsy Brantley as Angel. It included Sally Ann Triplett and Robert Meadmore and ran for 204 performances.
A "summer stock" production that toured the northeastern U.S. in 1982 starred Barbara Eden, William Hardy and Jay Garner.
In what was described as "a return engagement", the show opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on May 31, 1982, and closed on July 24, 1982, after nine previews and 63 performances. The cast featured Carlin Glynn and Delores Hall.
A short-lived sequel entitled The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public was staged on Broadway in 1994.
"The Aggie Song" was performed on the Tony Awards broadcast, but was heavily censored because of the nature of the lyrics and choreography.
A U.S. National Tour starring Ann-Margret opened on February 14, 2001.
A benefit concert took place on October 16, 2006, to benefit the Actor's Fund. The concert was directed by Mark S. Hoebee and choreographed by Denis Jones. The cast included Terrence Mann, Emily Skinner, and Jennifer Hudson.

Synopsis

It is the late 1970s, and a brothel has been operating outside of fictional Gilbert, Texas for more than a century. It is currently under the proprietorship of Miss Mona Stangley, who inherited it from original owner Miss Wulla Jean. While caring for her girls, she is also on good terms with local sheriff Ed Earl Dodd, and donates to the greater community. When crusading television reporter Melvin P. Thorpe decides to publicize the illegal activity, the ensuing political ramifications eventually cause the business to be closed down.

Principal casts

Song list

; Act I
  • "Prologue" – The Rio Grande Band Leader and the Rio Grande Band
  • "20 Fans" – Company
  • "A Lil' Ole Bitty Pissant Country Place" – Mona and the Girls
  • "Girl, You're a Woman" – Mona, Shy, Jewel and the Girls
  • "Watch Dog Theme" – The Dogettes
  • "Texas Has a Whorehouse in It" – Thorpe, the Thorpe Singers and the Dogettes
  • "Twenty Four Hours of Lovin'" – Jewel and the Girls
  • "Watch Dog Theme" – The Dogettes
  • "Texas Has a Whorehouse in It" – Thorpe and the Dogettes
  • "Doatsy Mae" – Doatsy Mae
  • "Angelette March" – Angelette Imogene Charlene and the Angelettes
  • "The Aggie Song" – The Aggies
  • "The Bus from Amarillo" – Mona
; Act II
  • "The Sidestep" – The Governor and Company
  • "No Lies" – Mona, Jewel and the Girls
  • "Good Old Girl" – Dodd and the Aggies
  • "Hard Candy Christmas" – The Girls
  • "A Friend to Me" † – Mona
  • "Finale" – Company
"The Bus from Amarillo" was moved to the final scene, sometime late in the run of the original production and has generally played that way ever since.
† was added in the 2001 production.

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

Discography

  • The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas: original cast. LP with gatefold jacket. MCA, 1978. MCA-3049. Cassette as MCAC-3049.
  • The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas: original cast. Audio CD. MCA, 1997. MCAD-11683; MCA-3049.
  • Best Little Whorehouse in Texas: New cast recording. Audio CD. Fynsworth Alley/Varèse Sarabande, 2001. 302 062 117 2.