THEATER REVIEWS : Cast Constructs a Lively ‘Whorehouse’

“The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” is such a simplistic and exuberant little musical saga that it sort of survives on its own impetus, like a toy bird that drinks forever out of a water glass.

Its plot--about a long-established country bordello pushed into the national spotlight--is slight. All a director can do is give it driving tempos and fill it with as much pepper as you’d stir into a pot of Tex-Mex chili.

And that’s exactly what director Phyllis B. Gitlin has done with this brash production at the Garden Grove Community Theatre. It’s an in-your-face, foot-tappin’ staging that takes advantage of the primary colors and the stereotypical Texans it exploits.

Bob Goff’s energetic musical direction and Kysa Cohen’s by-the-numbers choreography fit the show like a glove, and a hyper cast has a good idea of the cut-and-dash required to bring the shenanigans to life.

Gitlin has cast the show impeccably. The supporting actors include many good singers who, along with the lead dancers, have a ball with the lively score.

The two leads couldn’t be better. Cara Corren has a firm grasp of the feisty and savvy Mona, the madam from Amarillo who started out as a working girl and has maintained the high class of the Chicken Ranch. The strongest performance, though, is Ric Watson’s good ol’ boy Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd, Mona’s special customer and protector. Watson knows his Texas lawman, from the heel-and-toe skip that punctuates his comfortable cussin’ to the tender heart hidden beneath the cowhide veneer. Watson gives the production the solid base it needs to work.

*

John M. Duerler’s flashy TV do-gooder “Watch Dog” is over the top, but no more than most real TV do-gooders are, and he’s funny. Patricia Miller’s bordello housekeeper also is very strong, and her “Twenty-Four Hours of Lovin’ ” is a high point.

The Chicken Ranch girls all are attractive, and their ensemble vocal sound is excellent. Alice Williams is particularly effective as Shy, just off the bus and ready for her first tour of duty.

The direction shows how impressively a large show can be staged in a very small space--and what a little heat can do for a musical that doesn’t have much fire of its own.

* “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” Garden Grove Community Theatre, 12002 Saint Mark St., Garden Grove. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. Ends Saturday. $12. (714) 897-5122. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.

Ric Watson: Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd Cara Corren: Mona Stangley Patricia Miller: Jewel Alice Williams: Shy John M. Duerler: Melvin P. Thorpe A Garden Grove Community Theatre production of a musical by Larry L. King, Peter Masterson and Carol Hall, produced by Vivian Carter and Cary McLean, directed by Phyllis B. Gitlin. Music direction: Bob Goff. Choreography: Kysa Cohen. Scenic design: Philip Weitzman. Lighting design: Lee Schulman. Costume coordinator: Carrie Tigner. Stage manager: Barbara Ashby.