An arresting view of a patriotic Texas landscape, just old-timey enough to be laced with charm, houses a brothel, its storefront hiding the festivities (and sins?) it gives the illusion of taking place inside.

So sets the scene for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, produced by the Iowa City Community Theater. A 1978 Broadway musical production somewhat unfamiliar to the Iowa City area but well acquainted with many who dwell in theaters, the Carol Hall-composed score has that foot-stomping twang the audience craves from a play bearing Texas in its name and the right amount of joviality to spar with the music.

Little Whorehouse is based on the true story of one of the last big bordellos operating outside of the fictional Gilbert, Texas, (based on the real La Grange) until the late 1973. The musical is set in the late-70s and focuses on Miss Mona (Marcia Hughes), the proprietor of the whorehouse, who takes care of her women and has a good relation with local Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd (Don Schneider). The story follows the events leading to its eventual shut down because of a TV reporter’s decision to balloon the illegal activity with political consequences.

“While it’s based on a true story, a lot of embellishments have been made, and characters have been changed to quote ‘protect the innocent,’ but it’s based in true story, so there are true characters,” said director Susan Hamel. “There’s heart, but there’s a lot of comedy, slapstick as well … There’s a lot of naughtiness but no nudity, if people are worried about that. I’m not going to tell a parent they can’t bring their kid.”

The nonfictional material in the script and the heart of the characters were big reasons the lead actors gravitated toward the play.

“She’s a real person. Mona’s the heart of the story, because of what takes place, and I really want this, for the audience, to feel like a real story, not like a caricature,” Hughes said. “It’s a privilege. It’s always a privilege to get to play a real person.”

Despite the heavy pull of the raw subject matter and viable political statement, the music radiates through the theater in the actors, beloved by Schneider.

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“I’ve just always been very, very fond of the music,” he said. “I’m not thinking of it as an overarching political statement but a ‘hey, let’s come in and enjoy and reminisce a little bit about what times used to be like.’ So often, we have an idea of what the old days were like, but they aren’t always what we think they used to be, and here’s an aspect of the old days we maybe didn’t think about so much that was just sort of an understood undercurrent.”

When the audience members walk out of the theater not only having had a fun evening but thinking about what just happened is Hamel’s hope.

“I do not like to do fluffy musicals, and this is not a fluffy musical,” she said. “It has a very solid story line behind it and very authentic characters,” she said. “It’s a lovely show. It’s fresh even if it’s an older play.”

THEATER

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday

Where: Johnson County Fairgrounds, Exhibit Hall A, 4261 Oak Crest Hill