Cocktail Party Fact: Larry L. King (no relation to the talk show host) had written an article for Playboy about the real Chicken Ranch, a Texas brothel that had been operating since the 1880s until a do-gooder TV reporter caused a stink and got it shut down. Director Peter Masterson read it and showed it to his friend songwriter Carol Hall, who already knew King. Though King was hesitant at first, they finally agreed to write a musical. King later wrote a book called The Whorehouse Papers describing the musical’s creative process.

Here’s The Plot: After a brief prologue describing the history of the Chicken Ranch, a long-standing brothel in small-town Texas, we meet Miss Mona, who runs the Chicken Ranch, as two new girls arrive. She explains the rules of the house. The Chicken Ranch has been around for decades and has become a beloved institution in this small town. But Melvin P. Thorpe is a television investigative reporter who’s decided to shine his light on the Chicken Ranch to boost his ratings. Suddenly people are upset about the existence of the Chicken Ranch, even though they’ve known about it all their lives. And Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd is worried because he has always allowed the Chicken Ranch to thrive. He asks Miss Mona to shut down temporarily until things calm down. But the Aggies win the big Thanksgiving day football game and Senator Wingworth always treats the team to a night at the Chicken Ranch if they win, so Mona decides they’ll open just for one night and just for the Aggie boys. But Thorpe finds out and arrives on the scene, cameras in hand. As Act II opens, the Governor has gotten involved and is demanding that Ed Earl shut the place down once and for all. So he places the call to Mona, telling her to shut down. The girls pack up and prepare to leave their home. Mona’s disappointed but she knew someday she’d have to move on. She’ll survive.

Memorable Melodies: “20 Fans,” “Lil’ Ole Bitty Pissant Country Place,” “Twenty Four Hours of Lovin’;” “Texas Has a Whorehouse In It,” “The Aggie Song,” “The Sidestep,” “Good Ol’ Girl,” “Hard Candy Christmas.”

Vital Statistics: Music and lyrics by Carol Hall, book by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson, originally directed and choreographed by Tommy Tune. Opened at the Actor’s Studio October 20, 1977, moved to off-Broadway April 17, 1978, then opened on Broadway June 19, 1978, where it ran for 1,584 performances. The movie version opened in 1982 but didn’t do well (and wasn’t very faithful to the stage version). A sequel, The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public, opened May 10, 1994 and was a huge flop, running only 16 performances.

Why See It?: It’s a really fun, sexy musical about really serious issues — media sensationalism, moral hypocrisy, and political corruption. When it’s done well, this is a wonderful romp of a musical, with charming characters, a great score, and something to say.