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Stage
Hot Ticket: A musical of comic repute
By Times Staff Writer
Published September 29, 2005
HUDSON - When it first opened in 1978, most newspapers and theaters advertised it as The Best Little W****house in Texas, but now the show is so popular that many folks consider it a family outing.
On Friday, the musical made famous on Broadway and by a Dolly Parton/Burt Reynolds movie opens at the Show Palace Dinner Theatre in Hudson for a seven-week run.
It's the story of what's possibly the oldest continuously running brothel in the United States, which opened in 1844 and stayed in business in La Grange until 1973, when a crusading television reporter named Marvin Zindler embarrassed the governor into closing it. The musical tells the stories of the girls who worked at the Chicken Ranch; the sheriff who tacitly approved of the place; the patrons who frequented it; the doting madam, Miss Mona; and the wild-eyed television crusader who eventually did it in.
To play Mona Stangley, the Show Palace is bringing back Patti Eyler, who starred in its productions of Hello, Dolly! and Jerry's Girls. Melvin P. Thorpe, the TV crusader, is played by Matthew McGee, who is also directing the show.
Playing the hypocritical governor (The Sidestep) is Joe Camper, who co-wrote Puttin' on the Ritz and The Fabulous '50s and '60s Review.
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas opens Friday and continues through Nov. 19, Show Palace Dinner Theatre, 16128 U.S. 19, Hudson. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays and 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and some Saturdays. Doors open two hours before the show. Show and dinner, $41; show only, $29.95; ages 12 and younger, $23.45 and $18.45. 727 863-7949 in west Pasco or toll-free 1-888-655-7469; www.showpalace.net
Filling the comedy chasm
A couple of funny guys with faces made famous by television bring their very different acts to town this week.
In Tampa, acerbic standup comic Lewis Black, a regular contributor on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, will rant about politics, celebrities, pop culture and life's small annoyances. Black performs at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in Ferguson Hall at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, 1010 N MacInnes Place, Tampa. $39.50. 813 229-7827; www.tbpac.org
In Clearwater, Ron White, the smirking, cocktail-swilling, chain-smoking member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour quartet, brings his deadpan "Drunk in Public" tour to Ruth Eckerd Hall for one show at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. He returns for two shows Oct. 8. Ruth Eckerd Hall is at 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. $39.75. (727) 791-7400.
[Last modified September 28, 2005, 10:06:07]
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