Cowgirls

By JEREMY GERARD

Cowgirls (Minetta Lane Theater; 385 seats; $ 45) A Denise Cooper, Susan Gallin, Rodger Hess and Suki Sandler presentation of a musical in two acts conceived by Mary Murfitt, with book by Betsy Howie and score by Murfitt. Directed and
 
Cast: Rhonda Coullet (Jo Carlson), Mary Ehlinger (Rita), Lori Fischer (Lee), Mary Murfitt (Mary Lou), Betsy Howie (Mo), Jackie Sanders (Mickey). Original musical numbers: "Jesse's Lullaby" (music: Brahms), "Ode to Connie Carlson,""Sigma, Alpha, Iota,""Ode to Jo,""From Chopin to Country" (music: Chopin), "Kingdom of Country" (music: C. Converse, Murfitt), "Songs My Mama Sang" (traditional; additional music: Murfitt), "Heads or Tails,""Love's Sorrow" (music: Kreisler), "Looking for a Miracle" (additional music: Mozart), "Don't Call Me Trailer Trash,""Honky Tonk Girl,""Every Saturday Night,""Don't Look Down ,""They're All Cowgirls to Me,""Saddle Tramp Blues,""It's Time to Come Home, ""We're a Travelin' Trio,""Sunflower,""Concert Medley,""House Rules,""Cowgirls." Cowgirls" is one pretty good joke stretched to a little over two hours of sometimes gentle but mostly excruciating city mouse/country mouse humor. It's been given an extremely classy production, and it's put over with verve and affection by a first-rate cast. Whether that will be enough to draw a sustained audience for such hokum is unlikely, however, and while the material is a natural for the bus & truck and summer stock circuits, the unusual demands of the roles will limit the show's viability on the road.
 

The joke is that a trio of classical musicians has been mistakenly booked for the grand reopening of a honky tonk music hall in the middle of nowhere (well, Kansas). With just a day to go before the opening, the three women musicians resolve to go country, despite the reservations of the owner, Jo Carlson (Rhonda Coullet), who might have been a country star if her daddy had a better attitude about women on stage.

Everything that will happen in "Cowgirls" is completely knowable in the first five minutes. Will pregnant Rita (pianist Mary Ehlinger), uptight Mary Lou (violinist Mary Murfitt) and lesbian cellist Lee (Lori Fischer) pull off their conversion in time? Of course. Will they imbue Jo and her barkeeps -- wiggly banjo picker Mickey (Jackie Sanders) and dense percussionist Mo (Betsy Howie) -- with an appreciation of the classical roots of pop music? No problem. Will Jo get up there and sing on opening night? Bet on it. Will "partita" be rhymed with "fajita"? Oh, dear, it will indeed.

The saving grace of "Cowgirls" is the fact that all of these actresses are also accomplished musicians. There's something undeniably giddymaking about hearing a classical pianist get swept up in a stride piano number, as Rita does with "Honky Tonk Girl."

Tops are James Noone's marvelously detailed set, Kenneth Posner's fine lighting and Catherine Zuber's character-revealing costumes. Eleanor Reissa has staged the silliness with slick, fast-paced abandon. That this pabulum all goes down easy doesn't change the fact that it's still pabulum.

Choreographed by Eleanor Reissa, musical direction by Pam Drews Phillips. Set, James Noone; costumes, Catherine Zuber; lighting, Kenneth Posner; sound, Scott Stauffer; arrangements, Mary Ehlinger; casting, Liz Woodman; production stage manager, William Joseph Barnes; associate producers, Carollyne Ascher, Chanes/Shapiro; press, Shirley Herz Associates/Sam Rudy; general management, Denise Cooper. Opened, reviewed April 1, 1996. Running time: 2 hours , 5 min.