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The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
With Gary Sandy
"Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd"
Wednesday, May 2, 2001; 1 p.m. EDT
"The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" is the musical tale of Miss Mona's (Ann-Margret) Chicken Ranch brothel nestled in tiny Gilbert, Texas. There for over a hundred years, it's been part of the landscape, the neighborhood so to speak. But trouble starts to brew when a puritanical, overzealous TV reporter by the name of Melvin P. Thorpe demands that it be closed, and the state's politicians -- and frequent customers -- are pitted against Miss Mona and her "girls."
Theater veteran Gary Sandy ("Andy Travis" of "WKRP in Cincinnati") stars opposite Ann-Margret in the role of Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd. He will be online Wednesday, May 2, at 1 p.m. EDT, to talk about the play and his many other movie and TV roles.
The play runs from May 8 through May 20 at the National Theatre.
A transcript follows.
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Gary Sandy: It's nice being a part of this and I find myself connected to the computer, what with my little web site I've got going (www.garysandy.com) I read and answer all the mail myself.
Elk Grove Village, Ill.:
What was it like to work with fellow star Ann-Margret?
Gary Sandy: Without questions, she's an American icon. A very down-to-earth person. Easy to talk with. Highly professional on stage and we have a great rapport. I couldn't be more thrilled.
Arlington, Va.:
Hi, there. Welcome to our area. "The Insider" is such a great movie. I am a huge fan of Michael Mann. What was it like working with him? Is he as "unusual" as I have heard?
Gary Sandy: I don't know about the unusual part. He certainly didn't appear that way to me. Very dedicated film man. There was a sense of a kind of historic feel while you were shooting the movie, as though 20-30 years from now they'll look back at that movie as a reflection of the times when people used to stick those funny things in their mouths and light 'em. He hired me from an audition when I related the fact that I own a farm in Kentucky, raise tobacco. It was the only way that I could keep ahold of the family farm. And it's the very stuff that killed my father and his eight brothers and one sister. So I don't smoke and I got an attitude about it. And when I related that story to him and said I really wanted to be in this movie, he said, "You're in."
Bowie:
I was a little surprized to learn you aren't really from Texas. Do Texans ever tell you what a good accent you do?
Gary Sandy: Well, we haven't gotten to Texas yet. There's a couple of cast members who are from Texas and they seem to be happy with my dialect, so it seems to be going very well. I think that when we roll into Texas, which is about a month from now and we play there a month, I'm sure I'll be able to fine-tune, which will make it good for me because we go to approximately 35 other cities after that.
South Arlington, Va.:
Hello Gary,
Are you singing in this musical and if so, is it the first time you've sung on stage ?
How is it working with Ann Margret ?
Loved you on WKRP in Cincinatti !
How about a reunion show with all of the cast ?
Gary Sandy: Yes, one song in the second act. (Good Old Girl) It seems to be a song perfect for me in my register.
No, not the first time. I've done several musicals. I hasten to add that I'm an actor/singer who generally feels more comfortable when it's the patter of the Music Man kind of role a la Trouble in River City. I'm a little less confident when it comes to the "Til There Was You" on the footbridge.
I doubt very much that you will ever be able to get the entire cast together for a reunion. Everybody is too diversified as the years have gone on.
Arlington, Va.:
What would Andy Travis say about the state of radio consolidation in the U.S. Market today? Would WKRP be owned by an out of town company, or do you think Mrs. Carlson would have kept it in the family?
Gary Sandy: It would have been increasingly more difficult for Travis to have convinced her that it should not be sold for profit.
Bethesda, Md.:
Do you ever feel typecasted for TV because of the TV show?
Gary Sandy: Absolutely. The reason for that is re-runs. When I was in my 20s, I did approximately six years (three different soap operas but they were never re-run), hence, if you missed a show, you missed a live performance. With syndication, cable television, you see me in the "good ole boy," "your best friend" role last night, this morning and Lord knows how many more times in a given week and when it comes to cable, there is the loophole that the producers very little for the episode. Consequently, you have the Nickelodeons, the most successful cable television channel, making a lot of money because they don't have to pay the Bob Denvers and the Gary Sandys of the world. This is why there is possibly an actors strike going to happen this year.
Twenty, twenty-five years ago, there was an actors strike. At that particular time the actors were told, "We're not sure cable is going to be successful, but if it is, we'll come back and compensate." They never did. And the same goes now for the Internet. They want to have the same attitude, and many feel that we've been burned before.
Pentagon City, Va.:
What theatrical role was the most challenging for you to perform? What role do you think would be the most challenging for you to do?
Gary Sandy: The most challenging role I ever did was a thing called "Billy Bishop Goes to War," a true account of a WWI flying ace from Canada. It's one-man show. You play about--I'm guessing--15-20 some characters. You do three character scenes with yourself. The whole thing ran about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Pick up a novel and leaf through 100 pages and imagine that you have to memorize that. But it was probably the best thing I've ever done in my life.
At the homepage of my web site (www.garysandy.com), upper left-hand corner picture is from that production.
Lanham, Md.:
I enjoyed seeing you recently on "The Young and the Restless". What's the story behind that? Are you a fan of the show?
Gary Sandy: They came to me and asked if I would like to be a part of the series. We initially signed for six episodes. When they were unable to tell me what may be written next, I had been offered the tour with Ann-Margret and decided to opt for that gig.
Arlington, Va.:
In addition to WKRP, didn't you star in a Norman Lear vehicle back in the 70's where the women were basically executives and the men were sex objects, starring Linda Gray pre-Dallas? I can't remember the name of it. Good luck with AM in BLWIT.
Gary Sandy: Yes, it was around the "Mary Hartman" days. It was called "All That Glitters." Changing of the sex roles. "God in her infinite wisdom created Eve and Adam came from her rib." My father hated the series. He thought it was castrating, but that just went to show he and a lot of men missed the point. That was the point. To try to show the viewers what women have to contend with on a daily basis, a la "sex objects," "not making as much for the same job," etc., etc. Apparently, because of some contractual thing, this series will never see the light of day which is too bad. I happen to think that this would be highly successful now, and the roster of actors that came through the 65 episodes is beyond belief. Some of those actors were Danny Devito, Eileen Brennan, David Dukes, Tim Tomerson ... the list goes on. It was amazing.
Manassas, Va.:
Thank you for taking time out of your busy rehearsal schedule to answer our questions. You are playing the Burt Reynolds part, Ann-Margret is playing the Dolly Parton part, (as compared to the movie version) but who is playing the Governor's part? In the movie it was Charles Durning. I love the song "Dance a little sidestep." (At least I think that is what is was called.) And, knowing that it was a highly successful movie, does it make you nervous to play a part that is so closely associated with someone else?
Gary Sandy: Number one, and I don't mean this to be trite, apparently, it was not considered a highly successful movie. It was originally a Playboy article, then a Broadway show, then a movie. The movie was changed quite a bit for unknown reasons and the writers are much happier with the original script. I have been faced many times with playing roles that have been done before. The "Cary Grant role in Arsenic and Old Lace," which I did on Broadway and did the national tour of; the Paul Newman role in "Sweet Bird of Youth," the Robert Preston role in "The Music Man;" the Marlon Brando role in "Streetcar." What you must do as an actor in this kind of situation is not pay any attention to the "movies" and just read the script and base your characterization on the written part.
Arlington, Va.:
How much of Gary Sandy went into your character, Andy Travis on WKRP ? A role we all loved. Also, your role as the Sheriff in the new musical Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ? Is hard to seperate the two from each other (character & self) ?
Gary Sandy: I think that probably what I tried to do with the Andy Travis role is, at the time I researched the prevailing situation comedies on the air at the time and came to the conclusion that I was pretty sure I knew what it was the networks wanted me to do as the leading actor on a sitcom. I gave them cute, sexy, intelligent, nice guy ... everything that I could come up with, which, coincidentally I think Gary Sandy was in his thirties. But, from an actor's standpoint, I played the character of young, leading sitcom actor. That was my part and, in a way, I was able to step away from Gary, even though it was close to me, by intellectually playing this character.
Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd is a totally different can of worms. I am playing a real character and when you come to see it, you'll understand what I mean. And I'm having a ball.
Arlington, Va.:
Gary,
I know you probably won't answer this, but
I'll give it a shot anyway.
You are from the same hometown as
me--Kettering, OH. And I believe you went
to one of the Fairmont high schools. Did
you get your acting start while in school?
If so, what kinds of roles did you take on?
Gary Sandy: I started in the seventh grade with a Bob Newhard standup monologue. It went over big time. From then on, I got involved in speech contests and eventually won all-state actor in a one-act play contest my senior year, enabling me to get a small scholarship to go to college and eventually on to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. So to answer your question, yes, Kettering and Fairmont had everything to do with it.
Washington, D.C.:
Do you get a chance to see reruns of WKRP and how do you feel about the show nearly 20 years after it left the air?
Gary Sandy: I don't watch because I have them all on tape. As a matter of fact, I probably have the entire show that you're not seeing these days. At least two minutes and possibly more have been removed to add more commercials. But when I need my KRP fix, I'll pull one out and laugh my butt off.
Alexandria, Va.:
Hello Gary,
How did you and the other actors get along on & off the set of WKRP ? Were you all friends, too ? It felt like that from the warmth you all projected on the show. All great performances and characters from every actor on that show. I really miss that show.
Too bad, you al can do a proper reunion show before, it's all too late. Good luck & fortune with the musical "BLWHITX" and all future projects !
Gary Sandy: I think you answered your own question. You ranked the original WKRP in your Top 5. I might've ranked it as Number 2, which is why, when it came to the new WKRP, I told them I thought they should just let it lie because I didn't want to be a part of it, I just wanted to remember the golden days.
washingtonpost.com:
That was our last question today. Thanks to everyone who joined the
discussion.
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