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The musical "Cowgirls," now playing at Pioneer Theatre Company, offers a story that's as slim-fitting as a rodeo queen's Wranglers.
The show's mostly aimed at having fun, along with delivering a little bit of a girl-power message. But what's worth the ticket is the emotional weight of the music, particularly its ballads — beautifully delivered by a talented cast of actor/musicians.
Twenty years on, the plot of this all-girl musical (conceived, with music and lyrics by Mary Murfitt, with a book by Betsy Howie) suffers from clichéd characters and a few dated references.. Yet the show's big heart is embedded in "Cowgirls' " music, which beautifully, and cleverly, hits its notes across the classical/country divide.
Broadway actor Leenya Rideout embodies the heartworn, no-nonsense Jo Carlson, who inherited Hiram Hall, a legendary country roadhouse, from her father. The burdens of his debts match the oversized belt buckle holding up her boyfriend jeans.
She plans to reopen the saloon with a rainmaking all-girl country band. Her father wouldn't allow women on stage after her mother, a singer, left to chase a career.
But Jo is dismayed to find out she has mistakenly booked a classical trio. The out-of-town musicians become convinced they can learn a country set and offer to save the bar, despite their classical-music snobbery.
Rideout, an understudy for the original off-Broadway show, comes by the Western ache that flavors her voice naturally, thanks to her Montana and Colorado roots. Her talent shines on "It's Time to Come Home," a song about a girl missing her mother, one of the show's emotional highlights.
Every cast member holds her own as singers and musicians. And the story unfolds with confidence, thanks to the sure-handedness of director Karen Azenberg and music direction by Mary Ehlinger. Watch for the wit of Azenberg's brassy, sassy choreography in the show's final numbers.
Lindsay Zaroogian is graceful as the airheaded Rita (the role Ehlinger originally created), a pregnant classical pianist who worries about losing her independence as she becomes a mother. Angela Chatelain Avila's Mary Lou suffers from the script's clichés, but the Utah-based actor and violinist sells her character's transformation — and her breakout talent — in "Saddle Tramp Blues."
Jessica Bradish plays Lee, a cellist and New Agey lesbian, another role saddled with clichés, yet the actor/singer is especially winning delivering the nostalgic "Don't Look Down." Bradish and Zaroogian's voices are a lovely blend.
Waitresses Mickey and Mo (Karis Danish and Ashlie Roberson) play blond comedic foils, but the actors are at their best as they knowingly, and ever-so-charmingly, interact with the audience before the show-stopping concert. And for those numbers, Broadway designer Greg Gayle's fringed costumes are simply eye-popping.
"Cowgirls" offers simple fun, but its real power is how the talent of actors will lasso your heart. Twenty years on, "Cowgirls" still reminds us the American musical theater canon needs more stories by and about women.
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Riding the stage with 'Cowgirls'
Beautiful ballads and a talented all-girl band of actors/musicians sells this Western-themed musical, clichés and all.
When • Reviewed Friday, March 25; plays through Saturday, April 9. Mondays to Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturday matinees, 2 p.m.
Where • Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, 300 S. 1400 East, University of Utah campus, Salt Lake City
Tickets • $40-$62; $5 more day of the show; K-12 students half-price Monday and Tuesday; 801-581-6961 or pioneertheatre.org
Run time • Two hours, plus 15-minute intermission