'Best Little Whorehouse'

By KATHLEEN ALLEN

UA students get into the act as ART opens the Chicken Ranch in town

It's all Marvin's fault. Marvin Zindler, that is. Zindler, who died in 2007, got no credit for the musical comedy "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas," which Arizona Repertory Theatre opens next week.

But if not for him, the 1978 musical would never have been.

Zindler was a Houston newsman who loved plastic surgery and to right what he perceived was wrong.

And one wrong he perceived was a little ol' house of ill repute in Le Grange, Texas. It was called "Edna's Fashionable Ranch Boarding House," but everyone knew it as the Chicken Ranch. That's because during the Depression, when money was tight, Miss Edna charged one chicken per service.

The Chicken Ranch had been happily operating for three-quarters of a century with the tacit approval of the sheriff and the community. Texas A & M students frequented it (it was an initiation rite), as did politicos, soldiers (a base provided the helicopter to transport them there), and other gentlemen in need of a "visit."

Back in 1973, an outraged Zindler began his crusade against the place, and it was quickly shut down. Eventually, the sheriff, T.J. Flournoy, who had a soft spot for the ranch, had a knock-down, drag out with Zindler. It left the newsman with broken ribs and a bare head - Flournoy was said to have ripped Zindler's toupee off and waved it in the air like a victory flag.

A year later, the story of the brothel and its demise was written up in Playboy.

Naturally, a musical wasn't far behind. It opened in 1978 and ran on Broadway for more than 1,500 performances.

"The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" puts words and music to Zindler (he's called Melvin P. Thorpe) and his crusade.

"It's crazy that an article in Playboy in 1973 became a musical," said Samantha K. Wyer, who is directing the UA students in the production.

But she's mighty glad it happened, and to be be directing it right now.

"It's kind of exciting to do a show that's feel-good happy and that young people can succeed in and connect with," she said.

The musical was eventually made into a movie, too, but it's the play that Wyer thinks is the stronger and funnier.

"I think it's a better play than a movie," she said.

"They added a happy ending for the movie. The play has a bittersweet ending. It doesn't end up like you would expect - it ends up like real world."

In working with her college- student actors, Wyer found that many were familiar with the brothel concept, thanks to HBO's "Cathouse" series.

But they weren't so familiar with Southern charm.

"These women are first and foremost Texas Southern women," said Wyer about the working girls at the Chicken Ranch.

"There's a politeness about small town Texas. . . . We had to spend a lot of time helping the actors understand Southern hospitality; there's a different tone about it. . . . There's an understanding that men open doors for women, regardless of who they are, and take their hats off for women. It's the Tammy Wynette song, 'Stand by Your Man.' It's kind of wonderful."

Mona - the madam in the musical - insists on those genteel ways for both her customers and her employees.

"That's why men have grown up in that house," said Wyer.

"Men come there for companionship and to be in a world where they know their position."

The play is loaded with Western music, Southern sayings, and even a moral quandary, said Wyer.

"Some of us like to look at the world in black and white, that the word 'illegal' means wrong in the U.S.," she said.

"But when you see someone providing a necessary service, and it's not harming anybody, you kind of have to question what is right and wrong. When you see the political maneuvering that causes them pressure, you start rooting for Mona's girls and hope they aren't struck down."

Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@azstarnet.com or 573- 4128

IF YOU GO

"The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas."

* By: Book by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson; music and lyrics by Carol Hall.

* Presented by: Arizona Repertory Theatre.

* Director: Samantha K. Wyer.

* When: Previews are 1:30 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Monday. Regular performances: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday (opening), Thursday and next Friday. Continues through Dec. 6.

* Where: Marroney Theatre, in the UA Fine Arts Complex, North Park Avenue and East Speedway.

* Tickets: Previews, $20; regular performances, $31, with discounts available.

* Reservations/information: 621-1162 or arizona.tix.com

* Running time: 2 1/2 hours, with one intermission.

Originally published by KATHLEEN ALLEN, ARIZONA DAILY STAR.

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