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The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Also see John's recent review of
"Cowboys!"
The producers of Whorehouse took a page from the book of Weisslers and for the most part they
succeeded, with film & TV star, Ann-Margret.
Ann-Margret was met with a grand ole Texas welcome last night at the Music Hall in her first
entrance. The audience simply bathed her in love & appreciation. She walks like a star, the girl knows
how to find the "hot spot" on the stage. She speaks her dialogue with a breathy, deep, "sex-kitten"
speech pattern wrapped in southern drawl; not over the top mind you, more deep and sexy. I did have
difficulty at times understanding Ann-Margret in her lines and even more so in her songs. The diction
was swallowed and mushed at times. She would drop so low into her register, I just could not hear her.
"Miss Mona" does not require the vocal ability of a "Heather Hedley", thus Ann-Margret's singing
voice was charming and pleasant. You can tell she does not possess a belt or any true major octave
range, but you know what? That's okay - for this role anyway. She has nice, soft lilts in her soprano
range. And what she does do quite nicely is "act" the songs sung by her character.
Ann-Margret still has that star quality, and it fills the massive music hall beautifully. She is
still gorgeous, and you can tell she is having a grand time on stage being the Madam of the Chicken
Ranch. She gives the role beauty, class, and delicious sexual comic timing. I adored her, regardless of
her shortcomings within her talent's range.
Gary Sandy is pure Texan stud sheriff and has the ten gallon hat to prove it. Sandy's take on "Dodd"
is a combination of good ol' boy southern charm and backyard "Deliverance" combustive personality.
Sandy's comic timing was right on the money last night. He alas also possesses a not too strong singing
voice. Sandy's baritone voice has little vibrato to speak of which makes his one solo, "Good Old Girl"
come off slightly off pitch at times. Nonetheless, he's a riot!
Rob Donohoe is horribly miscast as "Melvin P. Thorpe". This is the role that can easily steal the
show, but here Donohoe plays him dull and lifeless; no comic timing whatsoever. The "off-camp" humor
that veils the role is not used at all in his performance, which is sad, because "Thorpe" is my favorite
role in the show.
Avery Sommers as "Jewel" is a powerhouse of vocal ear candy. Her solo number, "Twenty Four Hours of
Lovin'" is one of the best numbers in the entire evening. Sommers also performs most of the choreography
in this number, thus adding a second layer of "you go girl!" to the number. Sommers performs the role
with solid comic ability and with the best singing voice in the large company.
Ed Dixon as the "Governor" gives a hilarious performance to his solo, "The Sidestep". His superb use
of his vocal range, going from bass to tenor in the middle of the song, creates a whole new enjoyable
version of the song. Also, Dixon is the first actor in this role that I have seen (and I've seen
Whorehouse at least nine times now) to actually do some energetic dancing in the middle of the song.
The gangster suit he wears adds a fun "tongue in cheek" aspect to his character.
The ensemble members are all fine, but I felt their numbers lacked at times energy and
characterization of individuality. They all seem geared to play the same "stock" character, thus not
giving their various roles range or spice.
"The Aggie Song" was performed as the "bring the house down" number, as it should be. But 6-8 men do
not make a football team. Maybe at that time Texas A&M was 1A.
In interviews the creators have said they have taken a fresh and new look to the production. If that
is so, I honestly don't see it. I mean they did take one number ("The Bus From Amarillo") from act two
and moved it to act one, and they wrote a new song for Miss Mona for act two ("A Friend in Me"), but
that's about it from what I could tell. The set looked the same from previous productions I've seen. The
choreography, while enjoyable to watch, did not really look all that different from other productions
I've seen. The book sounded quite familiar, so I'm in the dark as to where the "fresh and new" comes
into light.
The production overall does suffer from major pace issues (it clocks in at 2 hours and 37 minutes).
At times it just struggles in act one like it was stuck in molasses. One way to move it along - cut that
dreaded number "Doatsy Mae". I still cannot figure out why this number stays in the show. It achieves
nothing. The character who sings this three chord ditty has no major influence in the book or the
storyline. The song just stops the pace dead cold.
But this morning I woke up still smiling at having seen Ann-Margret on stage. She is just a grand
actress who brought "Miss Mona" to life in new and interesting ways than previous "Monas" that I have
seen. From her two Bob Mackie beaded gowns, to the sexual heat that she still possesses, to just her
enjoying herself on the two level set, she alone in the end gives Whorehouse star marquee status.
But better yet, she gives a charming performance that will pave the road for this show to just maybe
make it to the great white way.
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas plays at The Music Hall at Fair Park Through June 10
Tickets are on sale at: The Box Office, 6013 Berkshire Lane in Preston Center, and all Ticketmaster
locations.
--John Garcia
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