Even the best whorehouse is something you should think twice about before visiting.

Review by Jeffrey Day.

            “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” is based on the true story of a bordello that operated in Texas for about a century until it was shut down in the 1970s. Like that place, it may be time for the 1978 musical to become part of history because it feels like a not-very-good remnant of the past.

            For the most part there’s nothing terribly wrong about Workshop Theatre’s production directed by Jeanette Arvay Beck. The cast and band are good, the singers strong, but the dancing is shaking and overall it’s sloppy and uninspired. That’s also pretty much what the show was like when the theater last mounted it a decade ago.

          The pieces of the show never really come together. The show is demanding with big dance numbers, people running through the audience and a dozen costumes changes all in a tiny theater. 

            As the madam of the house, Mona, Carolina Jones Weidner, brings the right amount of brass and tenderness to the role and she has a lovely and powerful voice. Scott Blanks is back as the crooked but charming sheriff. He only has one song, “Good Old Girl” (too bad because Blanks can sing), but he has most of the good lines, 90 percent of which being “God damn.”

            Hunter Boyle is hilarious as the television newsman Melvin P. Thorpe who wants to shut the whorehouse down. He could probably do so just on the strength of his bad blond wig and loud suits alone.  One of the best parts of this production is when Thorpe and his red, white and blue bedecked song and dance team take the stage. As the governor Kyle Collins turns a cameo, a song and dance called “The Sidestep,” into a real charmer.

            Most of the costumes are appropriately ‘70s ugly and look right. When the “girls” are wearing ball gowns that can be rapidly ripped off there are big gaps showing what’s underneath. The band and singers are fairly well balanced, but the amplified speaking voices are often too loud and not well modulated.

            The real problem is the musical itself. It’s just creepy. There nothing particularly funny about women basically forced into prostitution. One of the characters (who is played by a girl made to look about 14) comes to sell her body because her father has molested her. Huh?

            If that doesn’t bother you and you know you like this show you probably won’t be disappointed. Some of the rough edges, if not the script, may get cleaned up as it goes along.

“The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” runs through Feb. 13. Call (803) 799-6551 for reservations.

To read the Workshop Theatre press release for “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” CLICK HERE.

To read reviews of other recent shows at Workshop Theatre, visit our ARCHIVES.

To visit Jeffrey Day’s “Carolina Culture” Arts blog, covering all art arts in the area, CLICK HERE.

If you follow the theatre scene in Columbia then you probably know that Trustus is using its milestone 25^th season as an opportunity to bring back some of its most popular and successful shows, of both the mainstage and the “black box” variety. “Pounding Nails in the Floor With My Forehead” is one such gem you could have easily missed in its original run, as it was first performed back in 1997 and only then as a late night offering. Well, thank your lucky stars, this exceptional production, including its original star, Steve Harley (no relation to the critic), is back in prime time, and with its raw edge it is a perfect example of the artistic boundary-pushing for which Trustus was created.

Written by award-winning actor and playwright Eric Bogosian (“Talk Radio,” “SubUrbia”), “Pounding Nails in the Floor With My Forehead” is a one man show, a collection of related monologues spanning nine distinctly different characters. Playing on the absurdity of typical fears, hype, trends, myths, beliefs and attitudes, the characters emit a sort of mental buzzing that builds throughout the work, ultimately making the subversive point that we too often trade the important gifts of life (including the power of our own minds) for the worthless crap fed to us by the increasingly sensationalist media.

I suppose in a technical sense it’s easy to be “outstanding” when you’re the only actor standing out on the stage, but Steve Harley really does shine in this performance. Each character is clearly delineated, with their defining vocal aspects tied firmly to their well-manifested physical traits. In short, Harley really becomes these people while in the various roles. 

Particularly memorable are the characters that require the most commitment, including the redneck drug dealer and the visionary subway bum, though all demonstrate Harley’s skill in one way or another. A conservative talk radio host alternates with a motivational speaker, a rabid fan, a self-help junkie, and the list goes on. Indeed, even if the script were not so engaging it would be worth a trip to the theatre just to watch a quality actor take on this challenge.

As the show is being staged in Trustus’ smaller black box space, other production elements are minimized but are still perfectly effective. Harley mimes many of the props and settings, and a few basic set pieces serve when needed to buffer the action, which isn’t all that much in this text-based actor-driven piece. There is plenty of spectacle to keep you visually satisfied in the characters alone.

The individual monologues are masterfully written, though if there is a weakness it is in how long it takes for them to cohere and become meaningful in the big picture. Thus, the first few, while brilliantly hilarious, may simply seem like a stand up comedy festival until being tied in later as the message emerges. Director Dewey Scott-Wiley has also done a fine job of updating some of the comic references from the 1990s in order to keep the jokes relevant to today’s audience.

On the whole, “Pounding Nails in the Floor With My Forehead” will appeal to you intellectually if you are even the mildest bit subversive in nature (see Bogosian’s other work), and artistically if you are a fan of strong acting. It is also undeniably funny, though much of the humor is of an adult nature and really, really pushes the limits, so you should avoid it if bothered at all by bad language.

The show runs through February 6 at the Trustus black box. For information on tickets call the box office at 254-9732.

To read reviews of previous Trustus shows, visit our ARCHIVES.

Town Theatre’s “The Odd Couple” is very tidy, a little sloppy, and full of laughs. Go figure!

Review by James Harley.

Every dramatic genre has its master writers, and Neil Simon certainly qualifies when it comes to comedy. His works are so well put together as to be virtually foolproof in production, where all you really have to do is speak the lines and be assured the laughs will follow. Indeed, it would probably take a conscious effort to drain the life from a piece like “The Odd Couple,” and fortunately Town Theatre makes no such effort, presenting a fairly good community theatre level rendition of this twentieth century classic.

The story is focused on sportswriter Oscar Madison and his longtime friend Felix Unger, who meet each week at Oscar’s apartment for a poker game with their buddies. When the obsessively tidy and punctual Felix is unusually late one week, it is learned that he and his wife have separated and that he is wandering the streets in despair, without a place to stay. Oscar, an admitted slob, offers Felix a room and the “odd couple” is formed. Over the next couple of weeks the men’s radically divergent lifestyles and behavior clashes humorously, ultimately building to the point of confrontation. In the end, each learns from the other, tempering their extremist tendencies and becoming more rounded, happier and hopeful as a result.

Town Theatre has a true star in its midst, and though you will not see him on stage, his presence there is constant. His name is Danny Harrington and he is the scenic designer. Once again he has hit the mark, providing a very appealing visual context for the action. In this case it is a simple apartment interior, but the attention to detail is outstanding and instills in you, the patron, the notion that you are receiving a quality product before the show even begins.

Director Allison McNeely gets the job done, making the numerous visual gags work smoothly and maintaining an entertaining flow of movement in a play whose plot calls for a lot of sitting around a table.

Among the cast, Scott Stepp stands out as the slovenly Oscar. Though he sometimes lets Felix draw him into using more energy than his personality suggests, he still keeps his characterization within a believable range throughout. The same cannot be said for Lee O. Smith, who plays Felix as more effeminate than fastidious, with the result that he comes across as more of a diva than an obsessive. While he is clearly the “wife” in this “couple,” the level of feminization is over the top and creates a non believable character, causing him to steal the show, but not in a good way. In general we tend to care more about believable characters, and Oscar’s genuine shift towards moderation unfortunately gets overshadowed by Felix’s “look at me” leap at the end.

The supporting cast of poker buddies is highlighted by Steve Reeves as Roy, who stays busy with thoughtful actions and reactions at all points, again helping to ground the story in reality.

As a patron you should also know that the program indicates that the intermission will be held after the second scene, when it actually occurs after the first, creating some confusion. So, when the lights come up, don’t hold it thinking there’s a second break, go ahead and hit the bathroom.

There are some small technical annoyances involving body microphones (as a purist they probably annoy me more than the average viewer), but the laughs they are a-plenty, with the script easily making up for any weaknesses in production. But make no mistake, it is a good looking show overall, and if you like Town Theatre’s fare in general, you will certainly enjoy it.

“The Odd Couple” runs through January 30. For information or reservations, call the Town Theatre box office at 799-2510.

To read the press release for “The Odd Couple” or other current shows, visit our Press Release page by CLICKING HERE.