They say that saxophone
legend Charlie Parker liked to play country songs on the
jukebox. When his friends razzed him about it, he said,
"Listen to the stories."
"Honky Tonk Laundry," now at the Steven Stoli
Playhouse, is a musical based on the fact that country songs
tell stories, and often the same story. Women are always
standing by their man, losing their man, dumping their man, or
otherwise getting their coiffures in a twist over a
man.
In the show, two of these
women work at a laundry. Wisecracking Lana Mae Hopkins (Jessie
Rose) runs the place while ditzy Katie Lane (Laura Stiles) is
the emotional train wreck she hires out of desperation. In a
good-humored way, they let the songs tell their stories.
These are "real"
country songs, not written for the show. They were made famous
by Patsy Cline, Terri Clark, Reba McEntire, Pam Tillis, Tammy
Wynette, LeAnn Rimes, Loretta Lynn, Martina McBride, the Dixie
Chicks and Dolly Parton.
Parton is among the few on
that list who wrote her own songs, and with five of them here,
she's the queen of the show. "Nine to Five,"
"PMS Blues," "Jolene," "I Will Always
Love You" and "Coat of Many Colors" remind us
that she's one of our finest living songwriters.
Rose is especially effective
on "Coat," or maybe it just can't help being a great
song. That's in the second act, which basically dispenses with
Roger Bean's slim plot (it's not missed) to present the gals
giving a revue that engages some members of the audience. Both
sing well, and Stiles does a particularly nice job on "I
Fall to Pieces."
Their characters and the
songs are the whole show, so stay away if you don't understand
what Charlie Parker and the rest of down-home America has
heard in tunes like "Long Time Gone," "Fist
City" and "These Boots Were Made for Walkin'."
"Honky Tonk Laundry" can be seen at 7:30
p.m. Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays through May 11 at the Steven
Stoli Playhouse, 11838 Wurzbach Road. Tickets range from $12 to $16.50
plus tax. Call (210) 408-0116 for reservations
