Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

I love it and wish it would get a revival-- Reba McEntyre would be excellent!

I think this show was so damaged by the awful awful movie version- and it's a shame. I think it's great! (rent the movie if you ever wondered what Burt Reynolds would be like in a musical but don't say I didn't warn you!)

I love the show but the most recent tour with Ann Margret was pretty bad. She was the only character with a visible mic because she simply refuses to open her mouth when she speaks. All her dialogue was slurred and she stumbled around the set often. There really was nothing new or fresh in the production other than a new solo for Miss Mona at the end of the show that didn't really work and ended the show with a dull thud. It would have been ripped to shreds on Broadway. The rest of the cast performed well, but the material is not as "shocking" as it was when it first opened and it would need a major overhaul to keep a Broadway audience interested. It was fun, however to have Marvin Zindler (the actual reporter the "Watchdog" character is based upon) sitting directly behind me. He autographed programs and slept through the majority of the show.

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I saw Ann Margret in the recent tour and agree that she was tragic. It's too bad because I do love this show.

My studio director was in the movie version...back when she still had a soul, I think.

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The tour did have Doatsie Mae and was a highlight of the evening as performed by Roxie Lucas of Forbidden Broadway fame (and former Houstonian). It is the song of a waitress who has always led the decent respectable life, but secretly yearns for the less inhibited and more "exciting" life of Miss Mona's girls. It's something of a country-western Ms. Cellophone song. The character was eliminated from the film, thus eliminating the song. It's a poignant number that gives more depth and humanity to the story rather than the cartoonish treatment seen in the film. The stage production has its camp moments as well, but was far more balanced in emotional structure.

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not set in a bathhouse- there wont be any changes to the script or setting.

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Mr. Matt - it's funny you mention Ann Margaret slurring her speech and stumbling around. I noticed that too when I saw it. Her arm was in a sling, so I just assumed that her pain medication was making her act intoxicated.

I saw the same tour a couple of months ago in Cerritos, and I liked it better than Singingbackup, though I agree the boys were each and everyone of them waaaay too skinny to be football players and almost equally hard to see as wanting to fool around with anyone but each other, but the seats in Cerritos were less than half what the Kodak charged, so my expectations weren't as high. I enjoyed the show a lot. I thought the sherrif was excellent, though Miss Mona not charismatic enough for the part. The girls didn't seem chubby, but rather curvaceous as Miss Mona's girls probably would be. The music was catchy, the dancing not half bad (though I'm not an expert critic). It was worth what I paid and I sat in the 4th row so couldn't complain. By the way, I really like the Ann-Margaret CD version and her interpretation a lot, and missed the new song Friend of Mine in the current tour.

Updated On: 3/12/05 at 03:17 AM