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The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is a musical
Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. The emotional content of the piece ? humor, pathos, love, anger ? as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole....
 with a book by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson
Peter Masterson

Peter Masterson is an American actor, Film director, Film producer and writer.Masterson often worked with his cousin, writer Horton Foote. Acting from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s,including 1975's The Stepford Wives as Walter Eberhart, since then he has concentrated mostly on directing and producing....
 and music and lyrics by Carol Hall
Carol Hall

Carol Hall is an American composer and lyricist, born in Abilene, Texas.Hall is best known for composing the music and lyrics for the Broadway theatre stage Musical theatre The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ....
. It is based on a story by King that was inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch
Chicken Ranch (Texas)

The Chicken Ranch operated as an illegal but tolerated brothel from 1905 until 1973 and was located in Fayette County, Texas, Texas, just outside the city limits of La Grange, Texas....
 in La Grange, Texas
La Grange, Texas

La Grange is a city in Fayette County, Texas, Texas, United States, near the Colorado River . The population was 4,478 at the 2000 census. The 2006 population estimate was 4,645....
.

original Broadway
Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
 production was directed by Peter Masterson
Peter Masterson

Peter Masterson is an American actor, Film director, Film producer and writer.Masterson often worked with his cousin, writer Horton Foote. Acting from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s,including 1975's The Stepford Wives as Walter Eberhart, since then he has concentrated mostly on directing and producing....
 and Tommy Tune
Tommy Tune

Thomas James ?Tommy? Tune is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, Theatrical producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has thus far garnered nine Tony Awards and the National Medal of Arts....
 and choreographed by Tune and Thommie Walsh
Thommie Walsh

Thommie Walsh was an American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director....
. It opened on June 19, 1978 at the 46th Street Theatre and ran for 1,584 performances.






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The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is a musical
Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. The emotional content of the piece ? humor, pathos, love, anger ? as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole....
 with a book by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson
Peter Masterson

Peter Masterson is an American actor, Film director, Film producer and writer.Masterson often worked with his cousin, writer Horton Foote. Acting from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s,including 1975's The Stepford Wives as Walter Eberhart, since then he has concentrated mostly on directing and producing....
 and music and lyrics by Carol Hall
Carol Hall

Carol Hall is an American composer and lyricist, born in Abilene, Texas.Hall is best known for composing the music and lyrics for the Broadway theatre stage Musical theatre The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ....
. It is based on a story by King that was inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch
Chicken Ranch (Texas)

The Chicken Ranch operated as an illegal but tolerated brothel from 1905 until 1973 and was located in Fayette County, Texas, Texas, just outside the city limits of La Grange, Texas....
 in La Grange, Texas
La Grange, Texas

La Grange is a city in Fayette County, Texas, Texas, United States, near the Colorado River . The population was 4,478 at the 2000 census. The 2006 population estimate was 4,645....
.

Production history

The original Broadway
Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
 production was directed by Peter Masterson
Peter Masterson

Peter Masterson is an American actor, Film director, Film producer and writer.Masterson often worked with his cousin, writer Horton Foote. Acting from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s,including 1975's The Stepford Wives as Walter Eberhart, since then he has concentrated mostly on directing and producing....
 and Tommy Tune
Tommy Tune

Thomas James ?Tommy? Tune is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, Theatrical producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has thus far garnered nine Tony Awards and the National Medal of Arts....
 and choreographed by Tune and Thommie Walsh
Thommie Walsh

Thommie Walsh was an American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director....
. It opened on June 19, 1978 at the 46th Street Theatre and ran for 1,584 performances. The opening night cast included Carlin Glynn
Carlin Glynn

Carlin Glynn is an American actress. She is the mother of actress Mary Stuart Masterson.Glynn made her Broadway theatre debut as "Mona Stangley" in the original cast of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas....
, Henderson Forsythe
Henderson Forsythe

Henderson Forsythe was an United States actor. Forsythe was known for his role as Dr. David Stewart #2 on the soap opera As the World Turns, a role he played for 32 years, and for his work on the New York stage....
, Delores Hall
Delores Hall

Delores Hall is an American stage actress who made her Broadway theatre debut as a replacement in the Musical ensemble of Hair . Starting in 1968 and through at least the summer of 1969 she was an original member of the Los Angeles cast of HAIR and wearing her signature pigtails she opened the show singing the lead of "Aquarius" and simply br...
, and Pamela Blair
Pamela Blair

Pamela Blair , known as Pam, is an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for originating the role of "Val" in the musical A Chorus Line and several appearances on Soap opera....
. Glynn was replaced by Fannie Flagg
Fannie Flagg

Fannie Flagg is an American author and actress....
 and Anita Morris
Anita Morris

Anita Rose Morris was an American actress....
 later in the run.

In 1982, Glynn and Hall were cast in what was described as "a return engagement." After nine previews, it opened on May 31 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre
Eugene O'Neill Theatre

The Eugene O'Neill Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 230 West 49th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect Herbert J....
 and ran for 63 performances.

A short-lived sequel entitled The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public
The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public

The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public is a musical theatre with a book by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall....
 was staged on Broadway in 1994.

Synopsis

It is the late 1970s, a brothel
Brothel

A brothel, also known as a bordello, cathouse or whorehouse, is an establishment specifically dedicated to prostitution, providing the prostitutes a place to meet and to have sex with clients....
 that has been operating outside of fictional Gilbert, Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
 for more than a century. It is under the proprietorship of Miss Mona Stangley, having been left to her by the original owner. While taking care of her girls, she is also on good terms with the local sheriff, Ed Earl Dodd. When crusading television
Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
 reporter
Reporter

A reporter is a type of journalist who researches and presents information in certain types of mass media.Reporters gather their information in a variety of ways, including tips, press releases, sources and witnessing events....
 Melvin P. Thorpe (based on real-life Houston news personality Marvin Zindler
Marvin Zindler

Marvin Harold Zindler , was an iconic and influential news reporter for television station KTRK-TV in Houston, Texas, Texas, United States. His investigative journalism, through which he mostly represented the city's elderly and working class, made him one of the city's most influential and well-known media personalities....
) decides to make the illegal activity an issue, political
Politics

Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behaviour within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporation, academia, and religion institutions....
 ramifications cause the place to be closed down.

Song list

Act I
  • Prologue
  • 20 Fans
  • A Lil' Ole Bitty Pissant Country Place
  • Girl, You're a Woman
  • Watch Dog Theme
  • Texas Has a Whorehouse in It
  • Twenty Four Hours of Lovin'
  • Watch Dog Theme (Reprise)
  • Texas Has a Whorehouse in It (Reprise)
  • Doatsy Mae
  • Angelette March
  • The Aggie Song
Act II
  • The Sidestep
  • The doorstep
  • Good Old Girl Gone Bad
  • Hard Candy Christmas
    Hard Candy Christmas

    "Hard Candy Christmas" is a song written by composer/lyricist Carol Hall for the Musical theatre The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.Near the end of the original play, individual girls of the brothel sing lines of the verses as they are preparing to leave; they join together on the refrains....
  • The Bus From Amarillo
  • Finale


Awards and nominations

  • Tony Award for Best Musical
    Tony Award for Best Musical

    This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical, first awarded in 1949....
     (nominee)
  • Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical
    Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical

    The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to libretto of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligible....
     (nominee)
  • Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
    Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

    This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. The award has been presented since 1947....
     (Henderson Forsythe, winner)
  • Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
    Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

    This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. The award, introduced in 1950, was previously presented as Best Performance by a Featured or Supporting Actress in a Musical until 1976....
     (Carlin Glynn, winner; Joan Ellis, nominee)
  • Tony Award for Best Choreography
    Tony Award for Best Choreography

    The Tony award for Choreography has been awarded since 1947....
     (nominee)
  • Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical
    Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical

    This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. Prior to 1960, category for direction included plays and musicals....
     (nominee)
  • Theatre World Award
    Theatre World Award

    The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an United States honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway theatre or off-Broadway....
     (Carlin Glynn, winner)
  • Drama Desk Award
    Drama Desk Award

    The Drama Desk Award, created in 1955, is an award which recognizes theatres produced on Broadway theatre, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, and for legitimate not-for-profit theaters....
     for Outstanding Musical (nominee)
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Henderson Forsythe, nominee)
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Carlin Glynn, nominee)
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Pamela Blair, nominee)
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography (nominee)
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical (winner)
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics (winner)
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music (winner)


Bibliography

  • Hall, Carol. Vocal selections from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Melville, N.Y.: MCA Music, 1979.
  • King, Larry L. and Masterson, Peter. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Music and lyrics by Carol Hall. French's Musical Library. New York, N.Y.: S. French, 1978. ISBN 0-573-68111-2
  • King, Larry L. The Whorehouse Papers. New York: Viking Press, 1982. ISBN 0-670-15919-0


Discography

  • 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.


External links