Search - Original Broadway Cast Recording, Various (Broadway Cast Recordi :: Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public

Lots of fun!

burghtenor | Washington, DC | 03/16/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've never seen this show, and it's difficult to find a detailed review. From what I understand, audiences enjoyed this show when it opened in New York, but the critics so universally trashed the show that it closed after a mere sixteen performances. Why the disconnect? First of all, there's the subject content: legalized prostitution. Secondly, there's the commentary: the glitzy tackiness of American business, politics, and culture in the 1990's. Thirdly, and most damning of all: all the cleverness of the show is hidden behind the tackiness that it is trying to satirize. From listening to the show, it appears as if THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE GOES PUBLIC (BLWGP) is light, frothy entertainment that deserves to be known by a wider public. Maybe I'd feel different if I saw the show.THE STORY:
Believe it or not, the prologue for BLWGP is based on fact, not fiction: in Nevada, where prostitution is legal, a crooked guy sets up a brothel, here named "Stallion Fields." The government eventually closes the brothel down, not for the sexual acts occurring inside, but for the owner not paying taxes! The rest of the show is fiction, imagining what would have happened if the IRS had hired the heroine of THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS (BLWT), Miss Mona Stangley, to manage Stallion Fields profitably. Mona obtains the help of Sam Dallas, her old flame who is a financial genius (and NOT a character from BLWT). After a successful IPO, a conservative Southern Senator forces Mona to testify before a Congressional hearing. Mona makes such a stellar defense of her business that she receives national attention and makes history in a big way.THE MUSIC:
The cleverness of the show is in the storytelling quality of Carol Hall's infectious score. Sure, a few of the songs are merely mediocre (such as "Down and Dirty" and "Here for the Hearing"), but the others are fantastic. The prologue, "Let the Devil Take Us," combines the story of the creation of Stallion Fields with glimpses into the Las Vegas culture, complete with a sleazy comedian in a turquoise suit and impersonators of Sonny and Cher, Sigfried and Roy, Diana Ross, Liza Minelli, Ann-Margret, and Elvis. Mona's farewell to the Lone Star State is a joyous hoedown in which she rattles off the names of dozens of Texas towns. Sam explains that the solution to Stallion Field's tax debt is "Workin' the Street," but he doesn't mean that the girls should walk the Vegas Strip, he means that he needs to press the flesh on Wall Street. "Call Me" is an over-the-top production number about how Mona and her girls expand their business with corporate soundness. The curtain call reprises some of the earlier music, with IRS agents singing caveats to the audience, the impersonators doing a final stint, and Mona bidding farewell to a list of famous men she's superseded."

Not as bad as everyone says it is

Marcus Collin | NY | 12/19/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This musical is nowhere NEAR as good or as full of heart (or even as believeable) as the original (Best Little Whorehouse in Texas) but it does have some really great music. Dee Hoty does an excellent job as Mona Stangley. The plot is a little unbelieveable: The IRS assumes ownership of a whorehouse in Nevada (where prostitution is legal) and they hire Mona to run it, apprently she's that famous. Mona then inquires of her old flame (not the sherrif from the first musical) on how to run the business. He comes up with the idea of "going public" meaning offering the business on the stock market. The plot escalates from there, complete with all the trimmings, including a preacher dead set against the whorehouse (by the name of A. Harry Hardast). All's well that ends well, of course, and not only does Mona and her man make plenty of dough, but Mona decides to run for president, to become the first "Madam" I think this show is funny and charming, and definetely worth a listen."