The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas
(Original Broadway Production)
(Book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson, music by Carol Hall)
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas opened off-Broadway at the Entermedia Theatre on April 17, 1978. It reopened on Broadway at the 46th Street Theatre on June 19, 1978, and ran for 1,584 performances until March 27, 1982.
Awards
1979 Tony Award
Best Musical (Nominated)
Best Book of a Musical - Larry L. King and Peter Masterson (Nominated)
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical - Henderson Forsythe (Won)
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical - Carlin Glynn (Won), Joan Ellis (Nominated)
Best Direction of a Musical - Peter Masterson and Tommy Tune (Nominated)
Best Choreography - Tommy Tune and Thommie Walsh (Nominated)
1979 Drama Desk Award
Outstanding Musical (Nominated)
Outstanding Actor in a Musical - Henderson Forsythe (Nominated)
Outstanding Actress in a Musical - Carlin Glynn (Nominated)
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical - Pamela Blair (Nominated)
Outstanding Director of a Musical - Peter Masterson and Tommy Tune (Won)
Outstanding Choreography - Tommy Tune and Thommie Walsh (Nominated)
Outstanding Lyrics - Carol Hall (Won)
Outstanding Music - Carol Hall (Won)
Theatre World Award
Carlin Glynn (Won)
Twenty Fans
A Li’l Ol’ Bitty Pissant Country Place
Girl You’re A Woman
Watch Dog Theme
Texas Has A Whorehouse In It
Twenty-Four Hours of Lovin’
Doatsy Mae
The Angelette March
The Aggie Song
Bus From Amarillo
The Sidestep
No Lies
Good Ol’ Girl
Hard Candy Christmas
Finale "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas"
Critical Acclaim For The Show
“Utterly charming, lively and genial.”
- New York Daily News
“Humorous and good natured.”
- New York Post
“A font of fun and friendliness, engagingly rich in regional nostalgia and spiced with delicate bawdry. The country and western score is a delight.”
- Time
“Without a doubt, "The Aggie Song" is one of the most dramatically unexpected and undeniably effective musical numbers staged in the 1970s and that is due almost entirely to the impossibly fun and incredibly dynamic way in which Tune and composer/lyricist Carol Hall set out to musicalize one of the show's central events - the local football team gearing up for a road trip ultimately aimed at attending the titular establishment, aka The Chicken Ranch, following a victorious pigskin win.”
- Broadway World
Carol Hall’s tuneful songs are amusing, heartfelt, and rousing by turns. Among the highlights are the expository songs “20 Fans” and “A Lil’ Ole Bitty Pissant Country Place”; the “Aggie Song,” in which a bunch of horny football players plan their victory celebration at the Chicken Ranch; and “Hard Candy Christmas,” sung by the girls when they learn that the place will soon close.
- Cast Album Reviews
