Fisher Fortieth The New Season Fisher stages "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" to open its 2001-2002 season. SUZANNE CHESSLER Special to the Jewish News A crusading Jewish journalist in Texas inspired the fast-paced musical that opens the 40th anniversary season of the Fisher Theatre. Marvin Zindler, a consumer affairs reporter credited with closing the infamous Chicken Ranch brothel in 1973, got national attention that sparked the writ- ing of The Best Little "Then I thought it would be over after Broadway, but it keeps coming back over 28 years." Zindler, who regularly challenges mer- chants for illegal practices such as decep- tive advertising and car dealers for crimes such as lowering odometers, was a state consumer fraud investigator before being tapped for TV in 1973. Whorehouse in Texas. A recently updated version, with Ann-Margret as the Madam and Gary Sandy as the Sheriff, runs Sept. 18-Oct. 7 in Detroit. "The musical is a satire, and I can laugh at myself in satire," says Zindler, 80, who still does investigative work for two con- sumer news segments broadcast five days a week on KTRK-TV, an ABC affiliate. "I thought the stage musical was very good, but when they did the movie, they made it too serious. I've seen the play many times, and I've seen it done up so differently. They've taken out stuff for the Ann-Margret production and shortened it down a little." The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas originally opened Off- Broadway in 1978 and moved to Broadway two months later. Ann-Margret and Gary Sandy star in "Best Little After winning two Tony Awards Whorehouse in Texas," running Sept. 18-Oct.7, and two Drama Desk Awards, at Detroit's Fisher Theatre. it played to sold-out houses for nearly four years. The current production fea- The broadcaster's earlier work included tures new music written for Ann-Margret assignments as a disc jockey, local TV and lavish new costumes designed by Bob reporter and newspaper crime writer. Mackie. Two-time Tony winner Thommie "After I started doing commentary with Walsh, the show's original co-choreogra- my TV stories, a new attorney general pher, directs and choreographs this ver- asked me to help expose [Chicken Ranch], sion, which is filled with music and lyrics which had been open 129 years," says by Carol Hall and follows a book by Zindler. Texas law did not give the attor- Larry L. King and Peter Masterson. ney general the power needed to take "If they had asked me to invest in a strong action in this type of case. play about me, I would have thought "I started [looking into] the politicians they were crazy," says Zindler, represent- and all the different people involved, ed as the character Melvin P. Thorpe. 9/14 2001 R48 including the sheriff. Of course, the sheriff was allowing the place to operate. It was handed down from one sheriff to another. I didn't care [that there] was a whorehouse, but if the state of Texas says it's illegal, a sheriff cannot take that power [to keep it open]. "I ran stories and finally went to the governor, Dolph Briscoe, who ordered the closing of the Chicken Ranch (which got its name during the Depression, when poultry was accepted as pay- ment)." Ann-Margret, who makes her theater debut, has appeared in the feature films Bye, Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, Grumpy Old Men and Any Given Sunday. Gary Sandy, who starred in a TV series (WARP in Cincinnati) about radio broadcasting, has been on Broadway and on tour in shows such as Pirates of Penzance, Will Rogers Follies and Chicago. Zindler, who has traveled the country to see the musical and appear at benefits associated with performances, also uses his broadcast opportunities to find med- ical help for indigent children. Active with the men's club at his Reform temple, he recently took a TV crew to the Middle East to ger Israeli and Arab opinions about the role of reli- gion in government. "I get about 60,000 letters a year, and we answer all of them," Zindler says. "I use those letters to pick what I'm going to do [for the broadcasts], and we go out every day on these stories." The Fisher Theatre has staged dozens of productions featuring Jewish performers, composers and playwrights. They are represented by selected playbills pictured on page R39, taken from the first 10 seasons: Left to right, top to bottom: Row One: Sid Caesar in "Little Me"• Sam Levene and Selma Diamond in Woody Allen's "Don't Drink the Water ",• Sam Levene in "The Impossible Years"; Neil Simons "Plaza Suite'; and Marilyn Michaels in "Funny Girl." Row Two: Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme; Molly Picon in "How To Be a Jewish Mother"; Joel Grey in George M"; Jerry Herman's "Milk and Honey"• and Irving Berlin's 'Annie Get Your Gun." ❑ The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas runs Sept. 18-Oct. 7 at the Fisher Theatre. Curtain times are 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and 7:30 p.m. Sundays. $35-$70. (313) 872-1000. Other shows planned to celebrate the Fisher's 40th anniversary include Guys & Dolls (Oct. 9-28), Saturday Night Fever (Oct. 30-Nov. 18 at the Masonic Temple), Fiddler on the Roof (Nov. 16-25), Contact (Nov. 27-Dec. 16), Mamma Mia (Dec. 27-Jan. 20), Vagina Monologues (Feb. 19-24), South Pacific (Feb. 26-March 17), Copenhagen (April 2-21) and Proof (April 23-May 12). Row Three: Zero Mostel in "Fiddler on the Roof"; Sammy Davis Jr. in "Golden Boy"; Buddy Hackett in "I Had a Ball"; Tony Martin (with wife Cyd Charisse) in "First Edition '65"; and Gertrude Berg in "Dear Me, The Sky Is Falling." Row Four: Ted Lewis, Sophie Tucker and George Jessel; Arthur Miller's "The Price"; Lauren Bacall in "Applause"; Phil Sivers in "Do Re Mi"; and Lerner and Loewe's "Nly Fair Lady"