The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is based on the true story of a legendary Texas brothel known as the Chicken Ranch which operated from the 1840s to 1973 when it was finally shut down by the efforts of a crusading Houston radio commentator and his conservative audience. The musical begins during the last days of the Chicken Ranch, as television broadcaster Melvin P. Thorpe turns his attention to the appalling thing he calls “loveless copulation” at the ranch. Although many of the state’s politicians have, in fact, been customers of the brothel, they are eager to preserve their political careers and thus choose to publicly denounce the Chicken Ranch, its inhabitants, and its proprietress Miss Mona.