REVIEW: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
I DON'T know what they're putting in the tea when Derby Opera Company rehearse but whatever it is there can't be many inhibitions left among the cast members.
Two years ago, the raunch started with Jekyll and Hyde, last year the men decided to strip with The Full Monty and this year we get The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Check your pacemaker at the door because once again the troupe pull out all the stops to put their collective hearts, souls and lingerie into bringing this story of the infamous Chicken Ranch to life.
The show is full of big numbers with snappy choreography and a that includes 10 prostitutes, their madam, some townspeople, various politicians, local choristers, the Texas Aggies football team and – at the centre of the storm – troublemaker Melvin P. Thorpe, a flamboyant TV personality who is determined to shut down the Chicken Ranch and fulfil his destiny as "watchdog" for the local TV market.
but two numbers stand out. One is a solo in which Rachel Cline plays a disillusioned waitress named Doatsey Mae who wishes she'd had a more exciting life. She gets to perform a hauntingly beautiful ballad, Doatsey Mae, and completely nails it.
At the other end of the musical spectrum is The Aggie Song, a robust, full-bodied press from a chorus of football players getting ready to visit the Chicken Ranch, their prize for winning the Thanksgiving game earlier that day.
There's a lot to cram onto the Guildhall stage and I question putting the band in an elevated position in the centre of the stage, it hinders the performers and on an amplification note tends to drown out some of the cast on the musical numbers.
It's good to see this musical back on a Derby stage and watch a cast that looks to be enjoying what they're doing. What next for Derby Opera? Hair? At least it'll keep the costume budget down!
Andy Potter
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